Strange Scales
by NemmaStar
Summary: Post-Eclipse. Mere weeks before her wedding, Bella disappears. With vampires, werewolves and humans to blame, no one thinks to look to the more sinister monsters lurking just off shore. As Bella is thrown into a frightening new world, Edward and Jacob must put aside their differences to save the girl they both love. But will they be too late? FINALIST Fanatic Awards 2015!
1. Chapter 1 - Bella

**This is my first Fan fiction. Thank you for taking the time to read. Hope you enjoy it, Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful world of twilight.**

...

Prologue

"Hey Jon, get over here and check this out. It's freaking crazy, man!"

Dave chuckled, as he continued to prod the defenceless hermit crab with a stick. The little creature had taken residence in a Rainier's beer can and had been happily scuttling across the rocky shore. Happily that was, until Dave intervened. Now it danced in panicky lines for his amusement.

"Stupid crab," he said, while the sky overhead darkened with rain.

The beaches around Port Angeles were nothing short of bleak this time of year – a far cry from the sunny shores of the Californian coastline – but hell, they had their uses. Like this secluded spot - it provided an excellent safe haven for underage drinking. And despite the fact that the shore was littered with masses of beer cans and cigarette butts on a near permanent basis, cops still didn't check the area out.

Dave and his mate Jon were regulars here. _Here_ they didn't get kicked out for using fake IDs, _here_ their moms didn't hassle them, _here_ they could wander the shore uninterrupted and completely and blissfully pissed.

Dave chuckled again. It wasn't that funny – a hermit crab in a beer can – but he'd drank so much at this point that anything was amusing.

The rain, which had previously been nothing more than light drizzle, began to pick up and Dave's hair rapidly became plastered to his face. He didn't care. His position, perched on a rocky outcrop overhanging the sea, was precariously close the dark, deep water beside him, but again he just didn't care.

Swigging another gulp he continued his merciless taunting. The crab fell off the rock in fright and rolled onto its back, its legs kicking uselessly in the air. He chuckled at the sight, and jumped as another giggle echoed behind him. _That laugh wasn't Jon's_. Spinning around, he found that he was not alone.

Her laughter was like the chiming of bells, delicate and alluring.

"Whoa," he murmured, the can slipping from his grasp to clatter on rocks.

The sound echoed in the vacant air as he stared at the girl before him. Pale hair framed an exquisite heart-shaped face and hung in silvery sheets around her bare shoulders where she hovered in the pool's edge. The girl was young, maybe sixteen or seventeen, and floated with her arms folded over a large rock, completely at ease. Dave's heart picked up; setting a frantic new pace it thudded against the wall of his chest as if reaching out to her. Only her head, shoulders and arms were visible, the rest of her concealed by the murky water. _Aphrodite_, she could have descended from Mount Olympus itself to grace the mortals with her presence. Where had this Sea-Goddess come from? At that moment he didn't care, as long as she was here nothing else mattered. She was the epitome of beauty and his eyes greedily drank her in.

"You're gorgeous," he said. His words, though kindly meant, seemed somehow… insufficient.

No matter, the girl beamed at the compliment and the boy gasped anew at her beauty – it shone all the brighter when she smiled, like sunlight breaking through storm-clouds.

She was soaking wet, he realised then. Her sodden hair clung in tendrils to her face and neck. She must be freezing, especially with the weather which was not kind in this region. _And_ she had little if no clothing on – of _that_ he was very aware.

_Why would such a beautiful creature be out here in the cold and wet, near naked no less?_

Trying to shake off his drunken stupor, he pulled off his thick winter coat. It was frighteningly inadequate but he would give her more if she asked, he would give her everything.

"You must be frozen." He offered the coat.

When she made no move to take it he shuffled forward on the rocks, inching closer and closer to this Venus. His proximity did not appear to frighten her and that buoyed his confidence. Gently, he reached over and wrapped the material around her icy form, realising as he did, that she was, in fact, wearing nothing at all… _Oh dear lord… _

His hands rested on her delicate shoulders and now they were there he couldn't seem to make them move, they rebelled at the mere thought.

She looked down meekly, almost shyly, and he scanned her features in question. Her eyes caught his then, flashing up from under dark lashes and locking in place. They were… _enthralling_. Under their weight he found that he could no longer move, no longer breathe. He had never seen such eyes: emerald and sapphire and gold all at once. He leaned forward, not of his own volition, drawn by a force beyond his comprehension or control.

Her lips lay so close, a mere breath away, and that was too much. As he neared she tentatively drew back. His body screamed in protest at the distance and he instantly moved to close the gap. As soon as he did she moved again. They continued in this teasing dance until her face barely surfaced the tide. Hair seeped out around her in a halo of delicate gold, making her beauty ethereal…

"Dave," a voice yelled, "did you call me, man?"

_Jon… _Dave thought, and blinked, almost shaken from his spell-bound haze. Something, some innate sense of alarm was ringing in his head. Something was wrong with this situation, with _her_… Her eyes gleamed with an almost predatory light.

_Jon… Call Jon… _He turned, with every intention of doing just that, but her hands lashed out, quick as a whip, to latch onto his face. Cheeks in hand, she locked his gaze back on hers and the alarm, as faint as it had initially been, was smothered.

Almost lovingly, her arms wound around him. Delicate fingers caressed the skin of his neck and wound in his hair. She coaxed him forward with faint whimpering's and smiles filled with promise… gradually leading him into the depths. He followed her willingly. He would follow her anywhere.

Together and with barely a sound, they descended into the dark waters.

"Dave?!" Jon's cry issued far behind him. "Dave!"

...

Chapter 1: Bella

"Hey, Dave," I called happily as I wandered into the Fork's Police Station, with a brown paper bag swinging in my grasp.

Dave was the perpetual watcher; he had been manning the reception desk here since time began, as far as I could tell. If we lived in a completely supernatural world, I could easily imagine him as being something akin to Argus – the hundred-eyed giant of Greek Mythology. Dave saw everything that went on here; he may as well have had a hundred eyes.

"Isabella," he acknowledged with a gruff nod. Straightening his newspaper, he re-immersed himself in his reading.

"Hey, Bella," Mark called from the coffee machine. Mark was Charlie's deputy and a good friend of his. "I hear congratulations are in order."

That must have been the most commonly used phrase I'd heard this week and it still made me cringe. My upcoming marriage was the biggest bit of gossip in Forks since… Well, I couldn't even think of an appropriate comparison. Probably since the departure of the Chief's flighty ex-wife (i.e. mom) who had cruelly abandoned him and run away to sunnier climes with their months-old daughter in tow (i.e. me), leaving poor Charlie Swan to suffer their loss. Funny how I'd been a major participant in not one but _two_ of the biggest scandals Forks had seen in the last twenty years.

"Thanks," was my automated response. "You'll be getting your invite in the mail, they're being sent out soon." _In fact, Alice is probably posting them as we speak. _

Mark nodded and carefully sipped from his steaming cup.

"Not that it isn't nice to see you…" he said, "but what brings you here?"

"I'm bringing Dad some lunch."

I held up the bag as evidence. Exhibit A.

He sniffed the air.

"Smells good," he commented. "Toasted bacon, right?" he sniffed again, "with jalapeños and barbecue sauce."

I smiled, he had a good nose.

"Just the way Charlie likes it. Still warm," I added, swinging the bag temptingly in front of him.

"Hey, don't tease my stomach like that; I've had nothing to eat since breakfast," he said with a smile, rubbing his belly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No problem, I'll forgive you if you bring me one too next time, if you don't mind."

"Sure-sure, Mark." I bit my lip and flinched as soon as I said it.

That was a phrase I had picked up from Jacob, my purposefully-missing best-friend. He had his reasons of course, many of which I myself had provided. The responsibility of his absence rested squarely on my shoulders and it was a weight I was willing to bare, if only he were happy. It broke my heart to know he was not, but there was nothing I could do at present to change that status, so I did the only thing my aching heart could bare – I tried not to think about him. But as much as I tried, my thoughts always tended to spiral back to him.

Speak of the devil…

As if my will alone had conjured him into being he was unexpectedly right there in front of me – grinning his trademark sunny smile. I stared miserably at the poster of Jake plastered to the corkboard, as a hollow pit ripped open in my gut. I hadn't seen that smile in so long and I probably wouldn't _really_ see it for a long time yet, if ever.

The words: '_Have you seen this boy_?' were boldly printed below his image. They sent uncomfortable quakes through my stomach and an all too familiar lump formed in my throat. Every time I saw him it was like a slap in the face; a punishment I well-deserved and more besides. Resolutely, I pushed thoughts of him away. Thinking on Jake too much was an indulgence my delicate psyche could rarely afford.

"Oh," Mark noticed my pre-occupation. "Your father's been printing them out; we've been putting flyers up all over town, and we've sent them out to nearly every other station across the peninsula. Your father said you knew him?"

"We're… Friends," I said dumbly, struggling with the word.

Were? Are? I just didn't know which word to use anymore, I feared the former.

"I'm sorry," he said, rather awkwardly. He and I both knew the consolation was insufficient, but there really wasn't much else one could say. "Such a shame," he added, "so many of them go missing each year."

Trying to swallow the lump in my throat, I made an effort to re-immerse myself in the conversation. That was when I _really_ noticed the board, and all of the other posters on it.

"There are so many," I agreed, taking in the mass. The board was smothered.

It was a shock all of its own. I had no idea so many people had gone missing recently. One in particular caught my eye, of a young red-headed girl a little older than me.

'_Riana Lefebvre, 21 years old, Student of Washington State University_' I read.

Apparently, she had been missing since last October. I sighed inwardly as I read further – she had disappeared in Seattle, no doubt a victim of Victoria or her newborn army. They had plagued the city for months. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot more of the missing listed here could be attributed to Victoria and her mad scheme.

Suddenly, my planned joint-lunch with Charlie lost its appeal. My appetite was gone.

"You know what, Mark. I have a spare Bacon sandwich."

He frowned. "Isn't that one for you?"

"I'm really not that hungry," I waved away his worry. "I had a late breakfast," I added, lying on a whim.

"Well, if you're sure," he murmured.

His eyes were already glued to the sandwich. I swear I heard his stomach growl.

I handed over the cellophane-covered toasty before his belly could snap at me. Mark unravelled the packaging and took an appreciative whiff, sighing contentedly.

"I'm suddenly finding myself rather jealous of Charlie, I wouldn't mind having a daughter like you Isabella, maybe one day, huh?"

It was common knowledge that Mark and his wife had been trying for a little one for a few years now. I truly hoped he'd get the family he deserved, he was a good man.

Feeling a little guilty, I continued on. This wasn't so much a selfless, thoughtful, I'm-just-a-darn-good-daughter thing I was doing. My sandwich scheme had another design.

I was playing the good daughter today.

After Charlie's reaction to the news that Edward and I were getting hitched, I was playing my cards right, buttering him up if you will… just in case he reconsidered the whole 'shot-gun' approach to Edward's proposal.

I spotted him easily enough; Charlie leaned over a desk pouring over paper-work. From the way he went on about his work sometimes, I'd almost expected to come across him playing Black-jack or shooting some pool. His description had been misleading.

"Hey, Dad," I called.

Charlie's head snapped up, "Bells." He was visibly shocked to see me and half-rose from his desk. "What are you…?"

"I brought lunch," I smiled, raising the brown paper bag before his thoughts could run wild. I hadn't considered that he might see my waltzing randomly into the police station as a bad thing, and I wanted to belay any fears before they could form.

"You… Brought lunch?" he said slowly, testing the words.

Judging by his disbelief, I may as well have said I was joining the circus as a juggling mono-cyclist. Was it really such an unusual thing to do? It was only lunch.

"Yeah," I said in the same slow tone. "Does a daughter need a reason to spend some quality time with her dear old dad on his lunch break?"

Attempting to be the very image of innocence, I smiled sweetly.

He raised his eyebrow questioningly. I knew what he was thinking – I'd never bothered before. Did that make me a bad daughter or just negligent?

"Okay, I'll admit that my visit has some other… advantages." I sighed as I dropped into the chair beside him, and admitted, "I'm hiding out from Alice."

It wasn't the primary reason I was here; truly it wasn't, but…

"Still absorbed in the wedding madness is she?" he chuckled knowingly.

I grimaced. If only he knew…

When Alice was on a mission she was a force to be reckoned with. A scary, vampire, tornado force wrapped up in a deceptively cute package. And this wedding was her mission. She acted as if we were going into battle, all seriousness, barking out a stream of constant orders. I could easily imagine Jasper saluting her with a, 'Yes, drill sergeant!' I'd said it once myself, and heard Emmett's accompanying snort downstairs, but the look she gave me then scared me so much that I'd never indulged again. I'd lost track of the amount of things she'd attempted to absorb me in, from: lighting, the guest list, and cake designs to things I had never even thought of, like: coconut brands, lace-designs and confetti-shapes. She also had a tendency to bring up things I definitely didn't want to discuss – specifically honeymoon-related things. My cheeks burned at the memories. And randomly, two days ago, she had run up to me and asked, 'You have no aversion to _De Jaeger_, do you?', then she had shaken her dainty head sadly and disappeared just as quickly as she'd arrived, without giving me the chance to ask, "What is _De Jaeger_?" I still wasn't sure if I'd just imagined the whole thing. All in all, my head was spinning.

"I thought it was the Bride that was supposed to go all crazy about 'the big day'." Charlie actually air-quoted the last three words, drawing me back to the present.

"You know me, I'm not one for the spot-light," I mumbled.

However much Alice thought I should enjoy the attention, it just plain scared me.

"We have that in common," he agreed.

The dress-fitting, so far, was the worst part. With measuring tape and pins sticking out of her mouth, Alice pricked and poked as she flitted about, often muttering things about one designer or another, or commenting on the incredible talent that was Perrine Bruyere. At the end of each session I felt physically bruised, although there was not a mark on me. I couldn't understand it – she had already gotten me the dress _before_ I'd even agreed to marry Edward, so how many fittings could I possibly need? I had to admit though, Alice had taste; the dress was a fabric masterpiece. Even so, during the pre-wedding preparations I felt more and more like her personal Barbie-doll than I ever had before. I loved her, but sometimes that pixie was a nightmare.

"I've got a fitting this afternoon," I grumbled morosely.

Charlie noticeably shivered, and I was glad that somebody shared my pain. He muttered something unintelligible about a 'monkey-suit'.

I laughed. "You think you've got it bad? At least Alice isn't forcing you into six-inch heels."

He flinched at that mental image, and I couldn't help but laugh again.

All in all, this lunch idea was going pretty well. I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. Spending time with Charlie was never a big priority for me and that was a shame, after all, I didn't have that long left with him, I'd be moving out soon, and for all he knew heading off to Dartmouth with my new husband. No, I hadn't spent much time with him, but in the few weeks we had left together, I resolved to rectify that.

In the corner of the room the TV caught my eye. A news report was in progress, with a young female reporter sporting a bob-cut speaking into the microphone. She was wind-swept and having a lot of trouble keeping her hair out of her eyes. Behind her was a rocky beach, similar to the ones I'd seen around La Push, and in the corner of the screen an image of a cheerful-looking teenage boy with pale brown hair was displayed.

"What's this?" I asked, and Charlie turned it up.

"_After a four-day search, the body of college student David Griffin from Carlsborg has been found in Dungeness Bay, half a mile from where he was last seen_," the reporter said emphatically. "_We cannot reveal at this point the exact nature of his death, however, one of the police officers on-scene has stated that: 'judging by the boys injuries, it appears he was attacked by some kind of animal, perhaps a mountain lion or a bear', although, there have been no sightings of such animals in the local area and no other attacks have been reported. Another more popular theory is that David has fallen victim to a shark, though highly unusual in this area it is not impossible. But again, we must stress that no other cases or sightings have been reported. Police are appealing for any information…_"

The reporter's words began to glaze over me as I thought of another theory she had not covered – vampire attack. Dungeness Bay was near Port Angeles and Port Angeles wasn't that far from Forks. Did that mean another vampire was hunting in the vicinity? Usually they were more careful to conceal their tracks, at least that's what I'd gathered from Edward and Jasper whenever the subject had come up, which I had to admit, was not often. Sometimes though, nomads were drawn to the area by the Cullens, curious at the presence of such a large coven, and they would snatch a snack whilst in the area.

I sighed; I was probably getting ahead of myself. It was too easy to become paranoid after the year I'd had and assume that every mystery human death was vampire-related. Humans _did_ occasionally die of natural causes. It was probably, as the reporter said, a wild animal or a shark-attack. Still, I made a mental note to ask Alice about it when I got back.

"…_the work of the wildly active serial killer. Perhaps, this attack is related to the recent spate of killings in Seattle_."

Perhaps she was right. I wondered idly if one of Victoria's new-borns had escaped the Cullen's grasp. Edward had been adamant that all the vampires had been destroyed, but maybe one had escaped, maybe one that had left Victoria prior to her attack on Forks. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. Onscreen, the reporter sighed and hung her head.

"_Needless to say, his family is devastated. David, you will be sorely missed_."

Charlie sighed. "Such a shame, he was so young too, not much older than you."

"Yeah, I bet his family is distraught," I said, a little numbly. I was still staring at the boy's image. He was only young, about my own age…

"They are. I would be." Charlie frowned, rubbing the stubble on his chin. His face – lost in thought for a moment – flicked back to the here and now and he raised one eyebrow. "You still have that can of pepper-spray I gave you in your bag, right?"

I laughed, a little nervously, "Of course, but I don't think it'll work against sharks, Dad."

_Or vampires_, I mentally added.

He shrugged. "Still, I don't want you going anywhere near that beach."

"Don't worry, Dad. I have no plans to travel up to Port Angeles, and definitely no plans to go to the beach. It's hardly the weather for sun-bathing."

It was Washington State; it was _never_ the weather for sun-bathing, but I didn't feel the need to add that part.

"Anyway," I said, sliding the sandwich bag across the table in front of him. "I brought you a snack. It's hot, or at least it was."

Charlie rooted around in the paper bag and retrieved the bacon sandwich. He also pulled out the thermos of coffee and a pair of Mars bars I'd thought to add at the last minute before leaving home. He crunched into the toasty sandwich, which surprisingly was still warm. He smiled, genuinely happy.

"This is pretty darn good, kid. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

I retrieved the second Mars and began to munch along with him.

The silence wasn't awkward, it was comfortable. That had always been the way between me and Charlie; we didn't need to fill every second with inane chatter. The quiet was relaxing and together we idly observed the workings of the station. A young clerk – who I assumed was on work experience – passed with a pile of paper, looking harried; and at the front desk a woman was describing her lost cat, Mr McFluffykins, to a bored-looking Dave who was taking down her details. With a name like Mr McFluffykins I wasn't surprised that he'd run off.

We didn't discuss Jake, we didn't need to. It was still a sensitive subject for me, and Charlie was still sore over Billy's involvement, or lack thereof, in the search for his son. He didn't approve of Billy's 'Jacob's a grown man, he'll come home when he wants to' approach. Of course, none of us could just up and tell Charlie the truth – that Jake was a werewolf that could look after himself, and that through the pack's telepathic connection Sam was keeping an eye on him and would know if anything was seriously wrong. Yeah, that would go down well. Charlie couldn't understand Billy's apparent carelessness, it made him mad, and so _there_ was another reason to avoid the subject. Therefore, it was left undiscussed.

It didn't take us long to eat and soon we were wiping our hands and dusting ourselves off as we demolished the last few crumbs. I packed up the rubbish, ready to dispose of it on my way out. I didn't want to take up too much of his time, he was on the clock after all and I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself.

"Bells…?" Charlie said.

"Hmmm…?" I said, getting up from the chair.

"I, err, really enjoyed this." Charlie's word were awkward and gruff, he wasn't one for embarrassing emotional displays. "We should do it again."

"Yeah, same time tomorrow?" I asked.

"It's a date." He nodded and pointed a finger at me sternly. "Don't let me down, kid."

"Sharks or wild bears couldn't keep me away." I smiled as I turned to leave.

Waving to Mark and Dave as I left, I wandered out into the parking lot. It was still early and the sun was out, for once, and I admired the beauty of the day as I dug around in my pocket. Unfortunately, it wasn't my Chevy's slightly tarnished silver key that I retrieved; it was some new electronic gadgety thing that I still didn't like the look of.

The key to my new car – and by new I mean _brand_ new, and by brand new I mean _straight of the manufacturers show line_ new – bleeped strangely and the car's lights flashed.

The thing was massive, a shining monstrosity that was far more extravagant than anything I'd ever need. I really did miss my poor aged Chevy.

Reminiscing, my mind drifted back to a few hours ago, to the grand unveiling of the 'before' car, as Edward had dubbed it. Before, as in, _before_ I was changed…

Emmett threw up his arms as he, Edward and I entered the spacious Cullen garage.

"The only thing she'll say is that it's shiny," he complained.

"No, I won't," I said with mock hurt. "I'm sure I can think of something more technologically savvy and surprisingly witty to say about it. I may actually know more about cars than you realise."

_Lie_.

Edward snorted as he drew close to the sheet-covered vehicle, and with a swift, sweeping motion, he unveiled it. And there it was – the Guardian.

In an effort not to disappoint Emmett, I exclaimed, "Oh, it's _shiny_."

Well, it _was_ and it was definitely expensive. I suppressed the urge to grill Edward over the unnecessary cost; after all, part of our impromptu and rather lop-sided engagement compromise was that he got to buy my new car. Its jet-black design and tinted windows were very stylish, and it was obviously advanced and I was sure that Edward could tell me a lot about the engine design, horse-power, and other unnecessary gadgets it contained. But still, I was at a loss for words. As far as the technology side of it went, I had nothing. I couldn't even name the manufacturer – where was the damn symbol?

Predictably, Emmett burst out laughing while Edward rolled his eyes.

"It also looks like a tank!" I frowned, "And let me guess, this is bullet proof glass."

Emmett snorted, "No, its missile proof."

_What?! _

I looked at him for a moment before slowly turning to Edward.

"Should I be worried? Because I don't think he's joking."

Edward grimaced, guiltily.

"Edward!" I cried. "At what point did you think I was going to be attacked with bullets, let alone _missiles_, on a trip to the convenience store? …In _Forks_?"

"Oh yeah, I hear the crime rate around here is awful." Emmett chuckled evilly. "Delinquent squirrels throwing nuts, raccoons stealing garbage… How _will_ she survive a trip to the gas station?" he shook his head sadly.

"Emmett," Edward said in warning.

"Although, with _your_ track record, Bella, Edward probably has a point," he conceded.

He then punched Edward's arm in camaraderie as he made his way out of the garage, leaving me and Edward alone. I moved closer to assess my new prize. Trailing my fingers lightly over the expensive-looking sheen, I looked back at him, trying to assert the very essence of innocence.

"You know, it's funny," I started in sweet voice.

"What is, love?"

"That my poor old truck wheezed its last breath just weeks after we made our compromise, a major part of which included you buying my next car. Rather convenient timing, don't you think?"

_Very convenient timing_…

He smiled crookedly, already seeing the game.

"Well now, you have to consider that your dear Chevy did live a long and wholesome life. It was just its time to move on." His voice was remorseful and I didn't believe it for one second. "I assure you it died of natural causes."

_Of course it did_.

I surveyed him through narrowed eyes. He'd have been a more believable if he hadn't added that last part. Of course, there was no way I could verify his story or prove that he'd turned autocidal on my truck. Resurrecting the Chevy was also out of the question, I couldn't tell a carburettor from an AA-battery. The only way to be sure would be to have Jake-

And the thought process halted right there and refused to go on.

Jake was not a topic I allowed my mind to peruse at will.

Instead, I refocused on Edward.

Perhaps there was another way I could wheedle the truth out of him.

Mimicking his crooked smile, I manoeuvred around the car and strolled back towards him. He watched me warily, probably wondering what I was up to, and no doubt anticipating my usual explosive response to such extreme gifts.

"The car is very nice, Edward," I murmured as I drifted closer.

"Good," he said, slow and wary. Damn, his guard was up.

I moved closer. Pressing against him, I stared idly at his chest.

"In fact, it's beautiful," I said, my voice contemplative as I marched my fingers up his torso. "I may not be a car-buff, but I can tell it's fast, it's advanced, it's well-designed, and it's obviously expensive."

My fingers had completed their march all the way up to his chin and on the last word I pressed my forefinger lightly to the tip of his nose, before releasing it.

He frowning then, likely trying to unravel the inner workings of my mind, wondering what on Earth I was thinking.

"I'm not mad about the cost," I assured him.

_I was a bit; I bet it cost more than my house_.

Edward wasn't having any of it.

"What _are_ you up to?" he said seriously, but I could tell that he was finding it hard not to smile.

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"I _know_ you. You don't accept gifts this easily."

_No, I don't_.

I shrugged, staring at his shirt as I splayed my fingers across the fabric, exploring the smooth cloth.

"I'm just trying to say thank you."

His guarded countenance started to crumble then; I could tell by the way his body broke rank. His hands glided up along my arms to cup my shoulders. His thumbs rubbed lightly at the smooth skin above my collarbones and I had to remind myself not to get lost in his touch. This was my game and I had a purpose, information to gain. The ghost of my poor deceased truck demanded justice. It sent me on a giddy new high to realise that I was considering this little act as an interrogation.

"The Guardian is capable, it'll last, and there are a lot of miles left on those tyres and the paint-jobs certainly better." I switched my voice into a purr, hoping to lure him in.

He laughed but it was short and I don't think he was really listening to me anymore; his gaze was trained on my lips. I smiled as he leaned in closer.

"In fact, it's vastly superior in every way," I murmured, trying to instil my voice with huskiness.

Unfortunately for me, being sexy wasn't my natural state, but it seemed to work today. My senses were on high alert, hyper-aware of ever inch we touched. This was a new for me, being this slow, seductive temptress. I had to focus then, and not allow my voice to quiver.

"That being said… the truck wasn't the worst vehicle in the world."

He was still entranced. Was I actually dazzling _him_?

"And no matter how bad it looked; you would _never_ compromise my vehicle, would you?" My voice was as low and as breathless as I could make it.

"N-no, of course not…" He was mesmerised and his breathing had become heavier.

I smiled victoriously, "Hmmm?" I purred – _putty in my hands_.

"No, I would never…" his breath rushed out.

_Huh, perhaps he was telling the truth and my truck really had died of natural causes_.

Edwards's eyes drifted shut and those luscious lips hovered a bare millimetre from mine as he crooned, "You can't be too upset with the upgrade from that rust-bucket?"

I pulled back, breaking my spell.

"_Rust-bucket…?_" I gasped in mortification, leaning away from him. "Have some respect for the dead."

Smiling, I smacked his arm and flippantly moved to leave the garage. Thinking I may as well have drenched him in ice-water.

Game over: Bella scores. I'd achieved results; he hadn't confessed but he had sounded genuinely sincere when he said he'd done nothing to my Chevy and I believed him, so he was out of trouble.

I got no further than the open garage door before stone arms wrapped around my waist halting me in my tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled playfully in my ear.

Judging by the wry amusement in his voice, he knew exactly what I had been up to with my teasing.

Giggling as he swung me around, I didn't notice immediately when Jasper pulled up in the jeep and Emmett hopped out, Jasper wasn't far behind him. Edward set me safely down and frowned, running a hand through his messy bronze hair in frustration.

"No, I didn't forget," he said, before turning to me with resignation.

"I'm heading out with Jasper and Emmett soon. We're only hunting in the Olympic Peninsula, so I won't be far from home, but I won't see you until later tonight."

He obviously liked the idea as much as I did.

Winding my arms around his waist the same way his were wrapped around mine, I looked into his pained honey-eyes. In an effort that probably looked forced (and fooled no one), I plastered an encouraging smile on my face.

"That's alright." I shrugged. "My schedules all booked up today anyway. I'm having lunch with Charlie and Alice plans on subjecting me to further dress-fitting humiliation this afternoon. But it shouldn't be _too_ bad; apparently she has some other victims to target."

Edward laughed. "Why do you think Emmett's running?"

Emmett mumbled a string of unintelligible words. I thought I caught '_not running_'in their midst.

Edward snorted and Emmett threw up his arms in irritation.

"Don't pretend I'm the only one. You're running too, Edward," he accused point-blank.

"I'm not running anywhere," he said with eyes on me.

"You should be. With all the wedding madness that little pixie is a whole new level of scary."

Jasper snickered. "And it's only going to get worse, Emmett."

"How could it get worse?" he asked, incredulous. "She's already a certifiable mania-"

"-Hello Emmett," Alice said sweetly.

"Gah!" he nearly fell over as he stumbled out of her range. She had materialised at his side, seemingly out of nowhere.

"You forgot your phone," she continued, maintaining the sweetest, most serene tone.

"Err, thanks," he muttered, eyeing her warily as he accepted his cell.

She smiled benignly as she turned to leave, but I wasn't fooled.

"Oh, and one more thing, Emmett," she cast over her shoulder. "No matter how far you run, no matter where you hide, I will always be one step ahead of you."

She pointed to her eyes and then at Emmett, in an 'I've-got-my-eye-on-you' gesture. Emmett actually gulped.

"We'll sort out your suit when you get back," she finished and was gone.

Jasper laughed in open disbelief at Emmett.

"Did you really think you'd get away without her knowing?"

Emmett turned on me in retaliation.

"What did you unleash, Bella? I place the responsibility of this monster solely on you."

He grumbled unintelligibly as he clambered into the jeep, followed by a still-snickering Jasper.

"I think this maid of honour thing has gone to her head," I said in real consternation.

The power I had instilled her with definitely had. A new nickname I had dubbed her with sprung to mind: 'The Wedding Tyrant'. I never actually used it, only in my head. That was safest that way.

"You have no one but yourself to blame for that," Edward pointed out and it was true. I'd given her free reign to organise the wedding. "But she is very happy," he added with a smile.

I raised one eyebrow. She didn't seem happy, the words: obsessive, nervy or quick-tempered seemed more fitting; I wasn't seeing so much of the happy.

Edward nodded, conceding my unsaid point.

"Despite appearances to the contrary," he finished.

The imminence of his departure settled into my chest then, like a lead weight. I was finding it harder and harder to let him go. My hands did not want to unravel from around him.

"I'll miss you," I murmured, running my fingers through his hair, "hurry back."

My voice sounded needy and embarrassingly husky, and I reached up to caress his lips with my own. It was meant to be short and chaste but Edward responded with more fervour than I had anticipated. His kiss smouldered in a deliciously icy way, I clutched at his shirt, straining to bring myself that one nanometre closer, to immerse myself in the passion he offered. Ever since our engagement had been made official, I had been tentatively exploring those carefully placed boundaries of his, shifting them that little bit further with each passing day, wondering just how far Edward would allow me to go. He hadn't stopped me so far and not just that, to my delighted surprise I found that Edward was more than willing to accommodate my wishes. As a result, Edward's carefully enforced boundaries of our physical relationship were somewhat lax these days. Our lips manoeuvred in synchronisation, absorbed in their own desperate dance. My heart was behaving ridiculously again, the sound of its hammering nearly drowned out all other noise. _Nearly_, but didn't quite.

"Get a room!" Emmett called from the jeep's window.

Neither of us paid any attention. When we were together like this, time itself stood still.

Edward drew back for a moment, his eye burning down into mine with raging intensity, he chuckled breathlessly.

"I am counting down the days until I get to call you Mrs Cullen."

I smiled. Despite my reservations about the wedding, I really did like the sound of that – _Mrs Cullen_.

"That sounds nice," I mumbled, already breathless.

Flashing a grin, he swung me over his arms until I was hanging nearly parallel with the ground. Before I could as much as utter "Edward what?" he lips crashed down on mine and I was hopelessly lost, again.

Jasper and Emmett honked the horn and whooped like chimps. But we ignored them; we were too wrapped up in our own blissful little world.

Finally becoming bored when we didn't stop, Jasper sighed with wry amusement.

"Break it up, love birds," he said, while Emmett called, "Save it for the honeymoon!"

I did blush then, suddenly embarrassed. We were with company after all. I hadn't meant to broadcast our love so blatantly but as was usually the case when Edward and I were around each other, we just got carried away. Edward was the first to pull back, apparently his self-control was, as usual, infinitely superior to my own.

I half-stepped away but Edward stepped with me, allowing no distance and keeping his arms securely around my waist. He leaned in close as we both caught our breaths and my heart settled to a gentler hum, and a gust of his delicious honey scent swept my way, making me dizzy.

"I'm leaving my heart in your keeping," he murmured, pecking chastely at my lips, "keep it safe."

Emmett made a gagging sound, which I thought was rich considering some of the displays he and Rosalie had subjected the rest of us to.

"Don't worry, Bella. We'll bring him back in one piece… probably." Jasper chuckled, leaning out of the driver's window.

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly released Edward.

"Go ahead. I'll see you in a few hours."

I gave him a shove towards the jeep, which had no effect whatsoever; I may as well have shoved a brick wall. He sighed dramatically, as if the hunting trip were _such_ a burden, and swooped back in for one last kiss.

Before I could draw breath, Edward was gone, jumping in through the jeeps open window to tackle Emmett. I heard an "Owf!" followed by a "what gives?" as they crashed to the floor. The brothers grappled, each trying to get the other in a head-lock, while Jasper swung the jeep around. Its tyres squealed, spraying gravel as they speeded towards the highway – _Boys_.

Dragging myself out of my reverie, I clambered into the tank before any of the officers saw me swooning. The parking lot of my dad's police station…? Not the best place to do that.

The leather squeaked as I dropped into my seat and I took a moment to grimace. I looked so wrong in this swanky car it was unbelievable – with my checked shirt and scrappy jeans – it definitely didn't suit me. Plus, I was still in mourning for my Chevy; I reserved the right to not approve of its replacement.

Shifting the car into gear I stomped on the gas-pedal without thinking, the way I would have done with my old car. The engine released a lion-like roar and lurched forward so swiftly that my body smacked back into the seat, bruising my spine.

I slammed on the brake just short of a police cruiser.

I whistled in relief, _close call_.

Great, the last thing I needed was to be had up on charges for ramming a police car with my tank – whether it was unintentional or not.

Trying and failing to smile serenely and keep my head, I carefully lifted the clutch… and stalled. _I swear this car has a vendetta against me_.

My second attempt was much more effective and I carefully began to move.

_Well_, I mused as I drove cautiously, successfully avoiding further mayhem; _at least I'm the police Chief's daughter. If nothing else, Charlie could get me a nice cell_.

Pretending nothing too embarrassing had just happened I manoeuvred lithely through the lot and was soon on my way.

On a whim, I decided to drive the coastal route down the I101 to the South. It was a pleasant day and Alice didn't need me for hours. Edward was gone now, and would be gone for the rest of the day. I was also a little reluctant to return to Alice and her persistent pre-wedding madness, well… maybe more than a little reluctant.

The coast was a little out of the way. Ok, _a lot_ out of the way but I had a nagging urge to see the ocean and I couldn't really discern the reasoning behind this feeling. Perhaps it was due to my enforced absence from La Push and First Beach, my absence from Jacob.

I sighed. _There, I was thinking of him. I thought his name_.

Now that I was alone, my mind tumbled into Jacob-induced worry. His prolonged absence from La Push was troubling me. I understood that he needed space, I understood, really I did. That didn't stop the worry though.

I debated again, as I had already done a hundred times today, about ringing Seth to check up on him through their wolfy connection. But I was trying to be good, trying to limit myself to just the one call a day. There was also that one other issue that gave me pause – his sister, Leah, picking up the phone. That girl was scary incarnate, not to mention one seriously bad-tempered werewolf. Leah gave Paul a run for his money.

I flipped the phone open once, twice, three times, then sighed and, resigning myself to a day without news, stowed it away. _Later_, I promised myself.

I supposed I could have gone down to First Beach if I wanted to see the ocean, it was the closest, but I didn't want to impose my company on anyone I may come across. Not to mention this tormenting sense that rose in my gut every time I entertained the thought of going there, that I was betraying Edward in some way, and I got that from just thinking about it, let alone acting upon it. It was only a beach after all and Jake wasn't even there.

_No, better to bypass the area completely and head out to new territory_

This little outing was for me and me alone, I was in sore need of some me-time and I hadn't really been getting it recently with all the activity constantly surrounding me. I wanted quiet, quiet from celebration-organisations, quiet from troublesome worries about vampires and werewolves, quiet from my own thoughts. I wondered if Edward ever got this overwhelmed with other people's thoughts crashing around in his head. I knew the answer to that straight away – yes, because he'd said so more than once. I guess that was partly why the quiet of my mind appealed to him so much.

Stealing myself, I took a deep lungful of air and held the breath. Clutching the steering wheel, I let it out slowly and pushed all thoughts aside.

_No more worries_, I told myself sternly,_ just enjoy the scenic drive._

The sun glinted off the dark blue sea, throwing crystalline flashes intermittently into my eyes. The sky was very near cloudless with only the odd fluffy splotch to mar its perfection. Even the surrounding trees looked greener, if that were possible. It was so bright that I had no doubt none of the Cullens would be venturing out into town today.

I flipped down my sun-visor and gazed out to sea.

My foot slammed on the brake and the Guardian screeched to an unhealthy halt just shy of the grass verge. My eyes frantically scanned back to what I _thought_ I had seen.

Was that? …Yes it was. Cold fear stabbed at my gut.

Throwing the door open, I leapt out of the car and launched into a stumbling run. There was a girl, lying right there, face down in the sand. She was half-submerged in the sea, with the tide lapping at her waist and her hair splayed out above her in a sticky black mass.

I wanted to get to her quickly, but I feared it was too late.

The shale was not my friend, my feet could find no purchase in it, they slipped and slid and more than once I fell flat on my face, no doubt grazing my cheeks in the sharp grains. I got a mouthful of the stuff once, but regardless I trudged on, spitting and choking as I went. I took no care in my haphazard sprint and now I could taste the iron-tang of blood in my mouth, I must have cut my lip. My shins stung painfully too and I realised that I must have torn my jeans. All these thoughts were secondary though, as my mind locked onto my goal.

As I drew closer it became clear that the girl was definitely not conscious. She lay face down in the gravel, with heaps of soaking ebony hair concealing her face. My breathing hitched, and I didn't think it was due to my mad dash, as panic rose to the forefront of my mind. My phone buzzed loudly in my pocket then and I wasn't really surprised.

I flipped it open as I ran.

"Alice!"

"Bella! Oh thank goodness, are you okay? You just vanished. I can't see-"

"-There's a girl by the shore, she's hurt. I don't think she's breathing-"

"Okay, calm down, where are you?" She said, trying to keep calm herself, "Carlisle!" I heard her yell over her shoulder.

"Err," I panted, scrunching my face in confusion. My thoughts were chaotic; it took me a while to focus on her question and even longer to answer it. "I'm somewhere along the I101, the coastal road. You can see my car along the side. I'm in the area just in front of it."

With each passing moment I drawing closer to the girl and as desperately as I wanted to help, another part of my mind was screaming at me to leave and bolt in the opposite direction, in open fear of what I would find.

"Okay, Carlisle will be there soon." Alice's voice was calm and reassuring on the other end of the line. "Can you check her pulse?"

"Just a sec," I gasped as I dropped down next to her. "I'll have to roll her over."

Gingerly, I moved the mass of soaking black hair that spread across the shale around her head. Her face was on its side, half pressed into the sand. She was deathly pale and her lips were tinted blue and her skin was ice-cold – colder even than Edward's or Alice's. As unwanted understanding overtook me, my hands began to shake.

"This isn't good," I moaned. "She's really cold."

"Bella, keep calm"

"…and pale, really pale…"

Her eyes flicked open and I stopped breathing, mesmerised.

They were the most beautiful eyes: deep, iridescent, swirling with a myriad of different colours, vibrating with their vibrancy. Green and blue and gold… They were haunting; there was no other word for it. Her eyes held hidden depths; depths that you could get lost in willingly and never care.

Somewhere, in a very distant, muffled part of my mind, alarm bells began to ring, desperately signalling to me that something was terribly wrong. I struggled to think through the murkiness that enveloped my thoughts. My mind resisted, protesting against this unnatural fogginess. It wasn't right.

_Dangerous_

That one word managed to haul its way to the forefront of my thoughts and make it-self known.

This girl was dangerous.

It was harder than it should have been to place the pieces of the puzzle together, locked as I was in her merciless gaze.

_Cold, pale, dazzling eyes…_

"Oh Crap!" I gasped.

I knew of only one creature with those definitive features – a vampire.

The phone slipped from my grasp and fell into the sand.

Alice's voice was frantic across the line but too muffled to make out the words. The girl slowly rose to my height and faced me where I knelt, sinking in the shale, hands hanging uselessly at my side while the tide lapped at my jeans. She maintained eye-contact all the way.

I couldn't move. I couldn't remember how to.

She launched at me, with viper-like accuracy and intent, plunging teeth into the tender flesh of my throat. Her canines sank in, slicing the skin like butter.

Agony speared though my consciousness and the spell broke. I fought; my body broken loose of its frozen state, but to no avail. My fingers could find no purchase on her ice-cold skin. The girl snarled, and it was a feral animalistic sound that was in all ways terrifying. A pitiful, garbled cry escaped my own throat and in a moment of sheer clarity I managed to make out the words Alice was screaming across the line.

"Bella, Hold on! We're coming for you!"

...

**Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think****. :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Jacob

**Thanks to everyone who review/fav/followed Chapter 1 – I really appreciate it! Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. **

...

* * *

Chapter 2: Jacob

_You're checking up on me again, _Jake snarled, beyond irritated.

Seth pretended not to notice his voice, and instead went snuffling about a patch of fern. But Jake could read his thoughts, they were as clear as day… and he knew.

_You need to stop it. Just leave me alone._

Sighing, Jake curled up once again in the entrance to his cave. It was hardly homely but the place worked well enough. He'd found it about two weeks into his nomad-roaming somewhere up in Alberta, and had claimed it for himself after chasing off the resident wolf pack. It was quiet, secluded, and hundreds of miles away from any form of civilisation. Now, if he could only learn how to block out the annoying wolf voices in his head…

_Jake_,Seth sighed, _Bella's just worried._

The name made him flinch. He did not want to think about _her_; every time he did the pain it caused was overwhelming.

_And she's not the only one. I'm worried too_, Seth added, his thoughts turning to his estranged pack-brother_. _

_As you can see, I'm fine. Now, just, leave me alone, okay?_

With a huff, Jake circled and flopped down, head on his paws.

Seth said nothing, but he did turn his thoughts to other things. Sue was baking a beef casserole to take over to Charlie Swan tonight and he was hoping she'd leave some for him. It had smelt really good: gravy, rich and succulent… When his mouth started to water and his stomach grumbled, Seth decided to hunt. There was a herd of caribou not far to the south and Seth let his nose lead him.

His thoughts turned a little wolfish from that point, they were all about smells and sights and sounds and Jake found it easy to ignore. He re-immersed himself in his little bubble and thought of deer too. Nice juicy meat, still fresh from the-

_What the…?_

Seth jolted and reeled back. A flash of white had streaked past him with lightning speed – it moved faster than even his werewolf senses could track. And it was gone as quickly as he'd sensed it – Vampire: no question about it.

_Seth?_

Jake jerked upright, instantly worried about his safety.

It took Seth longer than it should have to collect his thoughts. He shook his head with a snort, making a conscious effort to pinpoint the scent.

_Cullen, definitely… the small one with the black spiky hair… the one that looks like a pixie._

_Alice, _Jake said.

_Yeah, _Seth quirked up, _wonder what's got her running so fast?_

He'd barely finished the thought when another white streak blurred past on his right, followed just as quickly by one to his left. The second vampire breezed past his shoulder with inches to spare, ruffling his fur, and Seth whined.

He was too far from the one on his right, but the one on his left was closer and he sniffed the air, trying identifying the scent.

_Too perfumy, too sweet, more sickly than the others_…

_Rosalie_, Jake said, remembering her scent from their training sessions with the Cullens before they fought off the new-borns. _Why are they…? _

_Another white flash!_

Jake followed the next scent in Seth's thoughts. It was their leader's wife, the one who acted like their mother. What was her name? Something like Emma… no, Elsie…

_Esme_, Seth said.

_Yeah, that's it._

Jake remembered the few times he'd seen her during their preparations for the new-born battle. She'd always been slower than the rest.

_Catch her, ask what's up! _Jake ordered.

He had a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling. He needed to know what had them running so fast, full-speed through the woods south of La Push, ignoring Seth no less – those leeches never ignored Seth. They took every opportunity they had to talk to him, since he was one Quileute who would speak to them with a civil tongue. Scratch that – he was the _only_ Quileute who would speak to them with a civil tongue.

Seth intercepted her track but made no move to stop her. He simply bounded along at her side making worried, whining noises.

Esme paused in surprise. "Seth!"

But her gaze darted ahead and she took off again. Seth was hot on her trail. With greater insistence, he continued his whines. Her behaviour had Seth worried now too, and Jake found himself, almost subconsciously, sitting up and leaning closer, as if he were there with them. Esme barely acknowledged Seth as she ran.

_It's like she's running for her life!_

Seth whined at the thought and glanced back, looking for signs of pursuit. Whatever made the Cullen's run was definitely something to be worried about.

_Where are the others? Where's Jasper and the big one, and Edward, and-_

_Bella!_

Seth nearly choked on Jake's spike of fright and stumbled in his steps. He soon righted himself and barked loudly at Esme. She glanced at him then, with large frightened eyes.

"She called," she said, "something's happened, we don't know what, she was screaming on the other end of the phone…"

_WHO?!_ They barked in unison, their words no more coherent than a dog's bark.

Though Jacob was sure he already knew… _No, don't say it_.

"Bella," Esme choked.

_FOLLOW THEM! _Jake screamed, but Seth was already on his way and Jake watched intently through his eyes.

It didn't take long for them to break through the bracken, crashing onto a deserted coastal road. Seth threw his head from side to side checking for people, but the area was deserted.

_There's no one here_.

Unsure what to do he looked to Esme. She had already taken off down the road to the South. Seth followed. Further ahead, he could see the blonde peeking out of an open car door. It was parked – if you call it parked, it was half way across the far side of the road with its bonnet dipped forward into a ditch – with its door left ajar, and a dinging noise rang in the air. The doctor and the little one, Alice, were kneeling over a patch of something on the beach, muttering rapidly. Alice stood up in a flash and darted along the shoreline, disappearing. Carlisle didn't move, he only stared, frozen, out to sea.

Esme reached his side and gasped. Flinging hands up to cover her mouth, she stumbled back – _a vampire actually stumbled?_ – shaking her head so fast that her face blurred and caramel hair flew up in a flurry.

_What happened?_ Jake barked. _Where is she? Where's Bella?_

_I don't know!_ Seth whined. _How should I?_

Alice flashed back and flew in the other direction.

Rosalie, the blonde, flitted to the doctor's side.

"Carlisle…" she ventured tentatively.

He said nothing.

With a piercing scream that toppled Seth to his side, Alice was back.

"There's no trail!" she cried. "Why is there no trail?!"

Carlisle was staring out to sea. "The water…"

Without pause, Alice splashed into the surf and vanished.

Rosalie stood stoically at his shoulder.

"You think whoever attacked her came from the water…" she said. "Carlisle, we'll never be able to track-"

Esme sobbed suddenly, cutting her off.

_I'm calling Sam_, Seth gasped, and without further delay the young pup threw his head back and released an ear-splitting howl.

The Cullen's barely acknowledged his call.

With a sigh, the blonde followed her sister with much less enthusiasm into the water. Carlisle, finally seeming to come to his senses, darted ahead of her. And as if on some invisible cue, Esme jerked into action and followed. All three were gone.

_Follow them! _Jake urged Seth. _See what you can find!_

_I can't swim!_ he protested, pawing the water's edge with trepidation.

_Do the freaking doggy paddle, just go!_

Seth backed up a step, tucking his tail between his legs with a low whine. Jake didn't have to be a part of his thoughts to see how much Seth didn't want to do this. But he was also worried for Bella, almost as much as Jake himself. With that knowledge in mind, Seth braced himself, gulped in a breath of air, and plunged into the tide like a dog chasing a stick. Using the weak traces of the Cullen's vampire scent, he found his way.

_Seth! What's the problem_?

Sam had finally turned up. He ignored Jake's thoughts – as had become the standard whenever the other wolves were phased. It was his own sympathetic attempt to provide Jake with what privacy he could while he had 'his little meltdown' as Jared liked to call it. But now was not the time or place for his misery. Bella's life was at stake.

_Bella's been taken_, Jake interrupted,_ by… something_.

They weren't even sure what yet. Alice said she could get no scent, Seth couldn't seem to find one either, but surely there wasn't any possibility but another vampire. Was there?

_Jake?_ Sam stumbled, surprised by the presence he had gotten so used to ignoring, but he was quick to get back on track. _Tell me what happened!_

Several other mental voices joined his own and Jake detected: Jared, Leah, Embry and Collin close by. A quick scan of their thoughts revealed that the missing others had ran off to protect their significant others in case this emergency was dire.

Instead of stumbling through an inadequately worded explanation, Jake quickly replayed his memories from the time he had noticed the vampires flying past Seth in the woods to the point where he had sent Seth diving after them into the ocean.

Seth was more than happy for Jake to explain, he was far too busy keeping his head above the waves to concentrate on anything else. But Leah was far from happy that Seth was alone, swimming at a painfully slow rate, in the water. He couldn't smell or see anything beyond the length of his own nostrils. This was dangerous and Jake had to agree with that.

_Get out of the water, Seth,_ Sam commanded.

_But… what about…?_

_Out of the water now!_

Spluttering and coughing, he turned to make his way to shore, but the water was everywhere and he kept dipping under, he couldn't work out which way to go. He was becoming rapidly confused, disoriented.

_Where's the shore? Where's the shore?_

_Hang on, we'll be there soon, _Leah barked.

She was already far ahead of the others. She threw herself through the thicket, tearing apart branches and ripping up soil between her powerful feet.

_I can't… I can't… _Seth coughed, inhaling water and choking.

_Seth, we're coming_, Embry shouted.

Jake tensed, leaning forward. _Head up, Seth! Kick for the surface!_

_Don't panic, _Sam commanded, but it was little use. Seth was panicking and he was beyond listening to reason now. He coughed, inhaling, choking on briny water, it was obstructing his throat. He couldn't breathe!

_Seth!_ Leah screamed.

He broke the surface, spluttering and gagging. There was an arm around his waist, holding him up – a marble-hard arm. Twisting, he turned to see a sodden blonde vampire hanging onto him.

Carlisle

Jake had never been more relieved to see him. Leah too, though she'd never admit it.

"It's alright," he said. "I've got you, Seth."

Seth stopped flailing then and gratefully allowed the vampire to tow him to shore.

Leah broke the treeline surrounding the beach just as a sopping wet Seth stumbled onto the gritty shale beside Carlisle. For only being in the sea for a few minutes he looked the worse for wear. Leah practically threw herself at him, desperate to see that he was okay. She nudged and nuzzled at his fur, her thoughts scattered and nonsensical, while Seth growled lightly and weakly shoved her away.

_Get off_.

He was embarrassed, but he could sense Leah's anxiety and sheer relief, so he wasn't too mad about her pestering, just a little annoyed. After that, Seth's thoughts turned back to the doctor, who was now watching the dripping blond female wading out of the waves.

"Rose?" he said.

She shook her head, "Nothing."

Sam burst out of the woods then, flanked closely by Jared, Embry and Collin. He wandered to Seth's side, checked him over and then looked out to sea. There was nothing but sloshing blue surf for miles.

Esme came sloshing out of the sea soon after, along with Alice. She was shaking her head and pressing a hand to her quivering lips. Carlisle did not need to ask.

The Pack's thoughts were buzzing so much that Jake could barely discern one voice from another.

_No scent, anywhere!_

_No sight…_

_Blood, Bella's…_

_What are they thinking?_

_What do we do?_

_What are we tracking?_

Jacob barked. And Sam commanded silence. All voices fell quiet.

_What was that about blood…?_ Jacob ventured.

Sam's thoughts froze… and, although he tried not to think of it clearly, and to find a way to phrase it more delicately, the raw information came across loud and clear. It was Bella's blood the Cullen's found staining the sand.

A roar tore its way out of Jacob's throat, so loud and long that flocks of birds from three miles away took to the sky. That howl was imbued with pain.

_Hold up, Jake_, Sam barked. _There isn't much, it's a bare smattering. There's still hope_.

_Sam… _Jake whined.

_Let me talk to the Doc._

But Carlisle was having an intense moment of his own. He stood trying to talk to Alice, but she was beyond listening to words.

"Nothing," she shrieked, beyond consolation. "There can't be nothing, there's never nothing! Where is she? Where _is_ she?" Turning to the sea, she cried, "Bella! BEELLLLLLAAA!"

Her shout echoed hollowly across the dark water and only seagulls cawed in response. Nevertheless, she continued, on and on and on…

"We need to call the others," Rosalie eventually said.

"Oh God, Edward," Esme turned to Carlisle, her anxiety racketing up into the extreme.

Alice wasn't even listening anymore, "BELLA!"

Her movements became imperceptible blurs once again as she took off along the shoreline, re-running the circuit she had already made possibly a thousand times – back and forth, back and forth. She showed no hint of stopping, and, as inexhaustible as vampires were, she could likely run that route forever.

_Jake? _Sam said.

_I know, I'm already heading back_

Under Jake's feet, the thick forest floor blurred past.

...

**Thanks for reading. :) **


	3. Chapter 3 - Underworld, Bella

**Thanks to all who reviewed/follow/fav – those emails made me smiles. Hope you guys enjoy this one. The story progresses faster from here.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. **

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Chapter 3: Underworld – Bella POV

Nausea and pain rolled through me in ever-tightening waves. Colour was a blurred concept; it swirled around me in a foggy miasma. I was conscious that someone was carrying me, every move they made, though subtle, jarred my head like a gong.

One of the Cullens had me. That had to be it.

That had to be why everything was flying past at such speed. The arm that held me was ice-cold and marble-hard. Relief! I was flooded with the sense that everything was going to be alright. I was safe. I was heading home. With those comforting thoughts, I began to relax… though the ache in my neck bugged me and my head _throbbed_. How had I hurt them anyway? I couldn't remember… and it didn't seem to matter right now.

I drifted, and as I did I thought of Edward this morning, of how happy he'd looked. Was I going to be well enough for the wedding after this? What if we had to postpone?-

A jolt wrenched me to one side and I cringed as the pain in my neck flared.

Oow!

Whichever Cullen held me was not being gentle.

I twisted around, with every intention of telling whoever it was to _slow down_, and then I saw what held me.

Burning bright eyes, shiny hair of ebony black, pearlescent skin…

It turned slightly, to face me as we speeded along a blurring blue vortex, and as it did it opened its mouth and _hisssssed_.

Not a Cullen.

I screamed, which was possibly the worst thing I could have done. As soon as my oxygen supply was gone I gasped, only, there was no air. No air!

There was water everywhere! The blue vortex was made of it!

And I breathed it all in.

Searing liquid flooded my lungs. I choked, gagging. My lungs burned!

_No air!_

That realisation provoked a whole new level of panic and I fought with what strength I had. Base animal instinct came into play; it wasn't only conscious fighting, I fought on an instinctive level, I scratched and flailed. I fought for my very survival… and failed.

Pressure beat down on my temples, increasing the ache until it was unbearable. I couldn't breathe… I couldn't fight… I could barely move…

Soon my pointless battle with my own body ended, and as the creature – whatever it was – towed me along, I was swept into darkness.

…

Dizzying…

Everything was so dizzying…

Colours faded in and out, lights shone and dimmed…

Vague recollections spun on the periphery, barely known: _Edward's smile, my wedding dress, bacon toasties, a girl on the sand…_ what had happened to her?

Coming to, I strained to focus, and as I did I remembered details… _The girl on the beach was cold but not dead, she had risen… She had such mesmerising eyes… My phone fell into the sand… there was a piercing pain in my neck and Alice was screaming across the line… _"Bella, Hold on! We're coming for you!"

The obvious realisation came to me, nearly overwhelming in its relief.

It was a dream; just a horrible dream. When I opened my eyes I would see that. Perhaps if I could pin-point the last thing I knew was real, I could ferret out where this nightmare had begun, because it had to be that, didn't it? It was just some really twisted nightmare. And it wouldn't be the first time that I'd had one of those.

Opening my eyes, I saw that my room was pitch-black. That wasn't right, even at night my room had light, from the hall or the moon and stars. Why was it so dark?

An icy chill coated my skin, piercing like tiny needles all over. I shivered. _So cold_…

Think!

This wasn't my room. I sensed it. Casting my mind back I tried to remember how I had ended up in this dark place: I was racing, flying through the water with unimaginable speed…

_She's waking…_

_Hush and wait…_

Fuzzy images flashed before of my eyes, like watching the world through a waterfall. Everything was streaked and water roared in my ears. The chill worsened, becoming so cold it was painful. It felt like my blood would crystallise with ice and frost would grow across my skin. Like when I had the stomach flu and I was freezing all over. I felt so weak…

The blurriness cleared a little, darkness ebbed, and then I was staring at a stone room.

I blinked, I blinked again, _hard_.

There were women there, lining all the walls and staring intently.

Their eyes were cold and frightening… and in the shadows they _glowed_.

My heart took off, setting a frantic new pace. _Edward_, it thrummed, _where are you?_

I cast about frantically. _Searching for an escape route?_ Instinct dictated that I should, but this dark room was confined and unlimited all at once. I saw the women and nothing more. The area beyond them was an unknowable void.

My muscles wouldn't respond, not even with the surges of adrenaline. I could barely move. _Why couldn't I move? What was wrong with my legs?!_

One woman stood out over all the others – with skin of porcelain white and hair as black as coal. _The girl from the beach…_ The one that attacked me. Another icy throb assaulted my head and I keeled back, clutching my temples. Why was I in pain?

The girl smiled, with dazzling perfect detachment, displaying rows of pristine white teeth and… Were those _fangs_?

Through the blur I looked at her, trying to concentrate through the ache. She had all of the characteristics, but the vampires I knew definitely didn't have fangs. I looked closer and… yes, her eyes weren't red. _Not Red!_ The relief was short-lived. These women may not be vampires but they were definitely something. And that something was _predatory_.

She had fangs for Christ's sake, only predators had fangs!

It was like I'd been drawn back in time, into that dreadful room in Volterra where I stood before Aro awaiting his judgement, but I'd had Edward with me then, and Alice.

This time I was alone, so very alone.

"W-who are you?" I tried to say, my voice a bare rasp.

Her mouth opened but there was no speech. There was nothing but shrill white noise.

_Who are these women? What do they want? Why drag me down here? …Why haven't I drowned yet?_ I remembered gulping in water, so much water… It burnt my lungs.

I opened my mouth – perhaps to ask – and a stream of bubbles flowed in front of my nose and up towards the ceiling. Oh God.

Water; I was _under_ water! _How_ was I still breathing?

Panic should have been my first response but this was all so strange that it hardly seemed real, and I felt so cold and weak. All I could do was cringe into a ball and stare at the shadowy women. My eyes blurred so much in the dark that I could barely see their faces.

After a time the noise became different, the change was subtle and slow but I did notice. In the midst of their shrill screeches there were other sounds; strange but familiar. Words, perhaps? Scratchy and grating and difficult to understand but words, yes.

"She _is_ interesting," said a girl with flowing blond hair. Her words became more articulate by the second. "Where did you find her, Mara?"

"Out by Calla's Bay," the dark-haired woman said. "I think she will serve well enough."

I awoke with a vengeance then. Launching up I dived for the wall – searching for any opening, any exit I could reach. Talon-like hands held me back, nails scratching skin. The women! Their attempts to hinder me only exaggerated my fright. I twisted, I lashed out.

I screeched.

I screeched so loud I could have shattered glass. The sound stopped me dead.

_What was that? That wasn't my scream… it couldn't have been_.

My pause gave them the opportunity they needed to pull me back and hold me down. Before them the frightening one appeared – the one from the beach with hair like night.

"Calm yourself," she said, almost languidly. "Everything is going to be alright."

_Alright? Alright! How could everything be alright?!_

"We mean you no harm," she continued. "I am sorry for the pain, it will pass."

"Who are you?" I managed to choke out, and a part of me was astonished that it came out clearly in the water. "Do you work for the Volturi? Did Aro send you? We had a deal!"

"Aro?" she frowned. "I know nothing of this Aro of whom you speak."

"Then… who are you?" I looked then, really looked, travelling the length of her body from her flowing black hair to her exposed naval… all the way down her scaled legs. Wait…_ scaled legs! _They melded together, almost gracefully, ending in a membranous forked tail.

"_What are you?_" I asked on a breath.

The woman smiled; a lethal show of teeth.

"Doubtless, you already have a name for my kind, do you not?"

I did, there was only one that really fit, but… it couldn't be right.

"Mermaid," I said. The word felt wrong on my tongue, too… bizarre.

She only smiled, showing those lethally pointed teeth.

_Vampires and werewolves was one thing, but Mermaids… really? _

I looked around at the rest of the women and, yes, they all bore the same scaled tails in place of legs – all in varying colours, from midnight black to the silver of coins. _Just when I thought there were no more supernaturals left to discover, the world surprises me yet again_.

"Where am I?" I grated, looking about the dark room – it was like a cave – but the ache in my neck roared back into focus, making my flinch. When I placed a hand to it I found a long, gaping slit – on both sides.

"What did you do to me…?" I rasped. I felt so strange.

_What do you think? _The thought arose, but it felt foreign, as if it wasn't my own.

"I changed you," the woman said, as flippantly as one would comment on the weather. "I made you one of my own."

"I… what?"

This didn't make any sense, my neck hurt so much. My throat felt raw, my legs numb.

"You can feel it, can't you?" she said. "The transformation is already underway. Those slits in your neck that you're pawing at, those are gills. That's how you're breathing right now, how you're talking. Your blood will likely flow with the chill of ice and your skin will feel numb as if it has withstood the caress of frost."

Through a veil of fog, I tried to focus on her words. Had she said transformation? Almost unwillingly, I pulled up, against their restraining arms, and looked down to my numb unfeeling legs…

It was as beautiful as it was horrifying. Where my legs should have been, an icy blue tail emerged, tinted with golden scales and ending in a pair of translucent membranous fins…

There was only one appropriate response for that – panic!

"Calm, be calm," the woman urged as the others held me fast – damn their iron grips!

"I'm like you?" I gasped, horrified and weak and cold. "I'm _going_ to be like you?"

"Yes," she said simply.

_No!_ "You're saying that I'm a mermaid?"

She looked pointedly at the tail. "Yes."

_This is too much_, I thought, _too absurd_.

"It's not as absurd as you'd think, given the extent of the supernatural world."

I ignored her, only asking, "Who are you?"

_At last, a reasonable question. _"My name is Mara. I am leader of this colony."

"Mara," I said, striving for calm, "you're the one who brought me here?"

I knew she was. I could never forget that face, but I wanted her to admit it.

"Yes," she said, blank-faced.

"Then you should know that there are people who will miss me, people who will come looking for me." _Edward would tear this place apart to find me._

The smile she released was slow and languorous.

"Oh, I doubt that anyone will ever find you here."

I glanced around again, quickly. Where was I? I still didn't know. The last place I remembered being was the beach and we were clearly not there anymore.

My skin chilled, impossibly colder. _Stay calm_.

"How long have I been here?"

While I waited for her answer my mind reeled. Edward would look for me, I knew he would, he would scour the earth, but would he even know that I was missing yet? When he did…

The woman, Mara, cocked her head, considering.

"Three days," she said.

_Three days_ and they hadn't come, _Edward_ hadn't come.

There were very few reasons that that could be and most of them I stringently refused to acknowledge. This woman must have brought me somewhere that was very hard to find.

_Of course it's hard to find_, my mind screamed, _it's submerged!_

While I gasped, trying to think and feeling the ice-flow of water in my lungs, the women watched.

"What is your name?" Mara spoke clearly now, at least to my ears, with a tone so pronounced and understandable that it was almost regal.

"Your name, girl," she insisted, much sharper this time, more demanding.

"B-Bella… Bella Cullen," I responded, automatically.

The future name was not really mine to claim yet, at least by law, but I felt that it was mine by right. I should be able to use it if I wanted. And I wanted that connection to Edward.

"Bella Cullen," she repeated.

Mara seemed to contemplate it for a long time, tasting the name as one would wine for bouquet and texture. Soon she nodded, in apparent approval.

"You belong to us now. Welcome to the Sisterhood, Bella Cullen."

…

**Chapter 4 is already being edited. ****Thanks for reading, ****Nemma :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Colony

**Thanks to everyone whose shown an interest in Strange Scales – you guys keep me smiling. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 4: The Colony – BPOV

"What am I going to do?" I muttered as I crouched alone in a darkened corner.

The mermaids were gone now. Mara, their apparent leader, simply said, "Give her some space, she needs time to adjust," in her flavoured, what-sounded-like-Russian accent. And they left me alone to wallow in my own crushing despair. I had promise Charlie so faithfully that I wouldn't go anywhere near the beach and what had I done?To be fair I hadn't gone anywhere near _that_ beach. The beach I had been attacked on was in the opposite direction of the one up by Port Angeles where that kid had been found. I hadn't even been planning to step on the shore, it should have been safe. That knowledge wasn't much of a consolation right now though.

I suddenly remembered my lunch date with Charlie – I'd let him down. Again. I'd even gone as far as to say: "Sharks and wild bears couldn't keep me away." Well maybe they couldn't but apparently mermaids had.

For some reason that thought hit hardest, and I clutched at my chest trying to obscure the hollow ache that stemmed from there. The ache in my neck had long since passed, and my legs, or rather tail, was mobile once again. Now it was my heart that hurt.

Worse still were thoughts of Edward. I pined for him most of all. He would be frantic, crazed. Did he think I was dead? _No, don't think on it!_

Some of the last words I had said to him were, "I'll see you in a few hours."

Another promise broken

Even though none of this was my fault, I still felt ashamed – at myself and my uncanny ability to hurt those I loved me. I redirected my thinking; it hurt too much to focus on him. Instead, I thought about my situation.

Mermaids, I was still having trouble with the concept. It was just so… unbelievable. If I'd been composing a list of my next potential supernatural creature run-ins vicious mermaids wouldn't have made the top-ten, hell, they wouldn't have even made the list. If mermaids existed, what else was out there? Next it would be Demons and Angels.

I sighed, looking down at the ice-blue tail that was yet to vanish.

Becoming a Mermaid… This hadn't been in the plan. I'd had it all laid out in a nice neat order: leave Charlie and Renée with the best resolution I could give them, let Alice have her fun with the wedding, and tie myself to Edward in every human way before becoming immortal. Now, my plan was totally, tragically and irrevocably _messed up_.

Throwing my hands over my face, I squashed my palms into my eyes and groaned.

"Carry on like that and your eyes will bleed," a rather sly voice said. "Not a pretty sight. Not to mention the fact that you won't _have_ any sight."

Carefully looking up through my tresses of floating hair, I saw a girl in the opening to my dark room. She was young, perhaps a year older than me, with masses of dark red hair and a waving green tail. Her smile was crooked, and not in a cute way, it was almost a sneer.

"Go away."

My voice wasn't the least bit accommodating. I didn't want interruptions, especially uninvited interruptions of the mermaid variety. I'd had enough of them.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said, in a voice that was anything but apologetic. She placed a hand over her heart in mock sincerity. "Am I interrupting your pity parade?"

I snarled, and was shocked that I had. _Where had that come from? _Tips of fangs pressed down, elongating to indent my bottom lip and I cringed, hunching down to wind my arms around my legs – err, tail. It wasn't smooth like skin, but almost metallic. Lips quivering, I tried not to look at the tiny interlocking discs of scales that now covered everything below my torso, as my arms tightened and I dropped my face, hiding in my floating tresses of hair.

"Ah, still working through the mermaid motions," she nodded, knowingly, "that parts a bitch. Still, you seem more depressed than our usual haul. Resenting the change a bit, are we?"

I didn't say anything, just glared from my corner.

"Uh-huh," she said, and held up her hands. "I get it, you don't want to talk. That's fine because I don't want to listen. See, we're already getting along _so_ well."

I frowned. "Who are you?" I asked as the fangs retracted. "Why are you here?"

"Ah, glad you asked," the girl grinned. "I am Riana."

She made a show of curtseying. And she actually pulled it off quite gracefully, considering the tail.

"Mara has assigned me to be your mentor and teacher," she grimaced as if at a bad taste. "Ick, that makes me sound so old. Sigh, the last thing I ever swore I'd be when I grew up was a teacher, oh well, time and tides."

She shrugged and I started to wonder if this girl had some kind of mental problem, she acted a little strangely. _She's a mermaid, of course she's strange_, my mind barked.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to show you around, show you how to hunt, track, and generally how to act like a badass little mermaid." She looked me up and down. "Although, in your case I may have to reconsider the badass part, you look kind of wimpy to me."

The snarl rose in my chest again, like a swarm of angry bees as the fangs re-sharpened. This girl, this Riana, really knew how to push on my nerves.

She chirped up immediately, "That's the spirit. Now c'mon, I'll show you around."

Feeling the weight of my despair pressing down on me, I hunched backwards, pressing into the wall behind. The stone was smooth and cold and I just wanted to huddle, alone, in my dark corner and mope about what a hag Fate could be. I had no interest in doing anything else.

Riana's smile faltered. "Look, I get that this probably wasn't what you envisioned as an ideal future. I bet this change has crushed your dreams, or ruined some major I'm-going-to-be-a-singer career but hey, it's happened. _So_, you can either wallow in self-pity in this miserable excuse for a bedroom, which will inevitably accomplish nothing, or…" she reached out a hand towards me, "you can come with me and take a look around. What'll it be?"

She had a point, wallowing was useless.

"I'll even show you where we hide our secret stash of surface contraband…" she sang.

_Perhaps if I get a good look around this place I can find a way out. Perhaps I can find my way back to Edward. _That thought alone gave me the energy I needed. It flooded my body with hope, and reaching out I took her hand.

She grinned, hefting me up. "Awesome."

…

Riana, as I quickly found, was vivacious. She had a sparking personality, like a match just lit, but she was sardonic too, and deeply sarcastic.

"By the way, we're roomies," she had said, the second she had pulled me up, "so you'll be seeing a hell of a lot more of my pretty face."

I think my mouth dropped open. This girl was sharing my room… err… cave? _How was I supposed to escape with one of them watching my every move? _

"You're thrilled I know," she nodded solemnly, "not many are as lucky to be graced with my incandescent company, but save your appreciation until the end of the tour."

With Riana leading the way, we swam from the dark room out into what appeared to be a vast hallway. It was a strange feeling, not to walk from the room, but to swim. Stranger still was that I couldn't even swim as I used to – with two legs – I had to kick and flip with my one powerful tail. It propelled me swiftly through the dark water and even in the limited light its scales caught and glittered. _So bizarre_… The water around me, though, was cool and comforting across my skin – _all_ of my skin. What had they done with my clothes?

"We live in an underwater cave system," Riana told me, "it maps the ocean floor for miles and miles. I still don't know how far it reaches and I've been here for a _long_ time."

As we swam, the darkness dimmed. There was no natural light; the underwater illumination had a greenish glow that made everything look all the more ghoulish.

"What is that?" I asked. "Where is that light coming from?"

"Glad you asked."

She pointed to a tentacled anemone sat on the wall – a squat little creature with bioluminescent colours that glowed green and yellow. There wasn't just the one either; as we swam their numbers grew. They coated the walls, lighting our way.

"Pretty cool, huh," the red-head said.

There wasn't just one colour either. There were: pinks and lilacs, oranges and blues. They cast off light like a dying rainbow.

I tried to listen, to take in every word that she said – who knew which bit of information could be the most vital to my escape – but with my head aching as it was, it was hard, so hard. An incessant buzz was drilling into my mind – was it an after-effect of the change?

"Now, on your right," she continued, "you will see a set of tunnels…"

It was extensive, just tunnel after tunnel after tunnel. As we moved further, her descriptions washed over me until they lost all meaning. Not that she was putting that much effort into it in the first place, considering her commentary.

"…another tunnel followed by a tunnel, a tunnel and, oh, wait… _another tunnel_. That's a tunnel too…"

I imagined this was what living as a worm would feel like.

"So," I said, in an attempt at pleasantness, "you guys have a lot of tunnels, then?"

She turned to eye me warily, probably wondering at my sudden participation.

"Oh yeah, its tunnel madness down here," she smiled, and for the first time it seemed genuine. "The only thing you really have to remember is the location of your own tunnel and the store-tunnels, it won't be too hard. Plus, you'll have me to show you the ropes for the next few weeks. If you get lost just screech and someone will find you and show you the way. Anyway, you distracted me, now I've lost my place, oh yeah, on you right there's a tunnel…"

And so it continued. As we progressed, my hopes of finding an escape route quickly began to diminish. How was I supposed to find my way around, let alone out? Everything looked the same – all the tunnels and all the caves. And it was all dark. Endless dark…

"Ah, and now for the pièce de résistance…" she paused at a corner up ahead and light flooded across her face.

"Is it another tunnel?" I asked.

Snorting, she turned away, and with a grand arms-out gesture, she pulled me to her side and revealed the vast space beyond.

"No, it's _the dome_!"

The thing was massive; perhaps five hundred meters wide by… well I had never been very good at calculus. It was unbelievably huge, and pitted on all sides with tunnels on every level. Riana and I had emerged from one of the lowest caves which only served to enhance the grandeur of the mermaid's lair.

As I stared – half-awed, half-horrified – at the massive beehive-like structure before us, Riana continued with her tour-guide façade.

"This is the epicentre of our colony. The communal hub if you will. You will find the exits are located here and… Oh, hang on, there is only one exit. That's not very safe. You'd think management would have been more careful and account for fire regulations, but since we're underwater that apparently got overlooked. So if there is a fire, we'll all drown."

I barely heard her past the part where she said 'one exit.'

"Where is the exit?" I quickly asked, too quickly. "I didn't see where you pointed."

With one eyebrow raised, she simply lifted a finger skyward.

I followed it, up and up and up… There was no ceiling, only one massive opening in the roof that allowed light from the water's surface to filter down into the dome. And below it there were many other shapes, shadows, flitting about.

Mermaids swam, glittering in the sun, the way honey-bees buzzed about a hive. They did buzz too; the incessant trill of their chatter filled the water.

"How many are there?" I asked, breathless. The sheer numbers were overwhelming.

"_We_," Riana stressed, "number at about three thousand… in this colony."

I only saw girls too; there was not one boy among them.

One thought echoed hollowly in my head: how was Edward ever supposed to find me?

"Okay, now for the serious stuff," the red-head clapped her hands together. "There are only a select few rooms or _areas_ really that you need to know about: One, the food court – which is really just a massive stock-room; two, the meat-locker, although you won't be allowed in there for a few weeks yet. Three…"

My focus slipped. That incessant buzzing still drilled into my head. What _was_ that?

"It's simply an after-effect of the change," Riana said, "don't worry, it'll go off."

I stopped dead, looking at her.

"I didn't ask that out loud."

She paused, starting to grimace. That was the look people got when they 'let the ball drop'.

"Can you…" No, the idea was too horrible, "can you _read my_ _thoughts_?"

No, no one could read my thoughts! Not even Edward! This was… this was…

"Alright, don't panic again, I don't want to have to deal with a meltdown like the one you had when you arrived. Mara wouldn't like that either. So, just… deep breaths, okay?"

Swimming back, she took hold of my shoulders and stared into my eyes.

…_Calm?_

The thought, so clear in my mind, felt horribly foreign, not my own. And now that I thought back, I could remember a few moments like this when I had woken up – thoughts that did not feel quite like mine. Misery consumed me – they could read my thoughts. All I could do was stare at Riana, stare into her shining green eyes – they were so sharp the colour almost glowed.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat it," she said, carefully. "We can all read thoughts, every single one of us. We all read each other's, it's like this telepathic link we all share."

_The incessant buzzing_, I thought.

"Yes," she nodded, "you'll get used to it. We all do. I can even show you how to block it a little, and how to listen only when you want to. But it'll take time."

_Time… TIME! I needed to block out my thoughts _now! They were mine, my own. Oh God, had she heard me plotting to escape? My eyes darted.

"Hey, look," she said, "it's nothing to be worried about. We all have our own dark secrets and half of the time we just bypass them. We try to give each other as much privacy as we can." She paused then, gifting me with a sad little smile. "And you aren't the only newbie to hold onto thoughts of escape. That's natural, but it passes. It always does."

A mire of depression swept me under. Did anyone ever escape this place? How many others were there here like me? How many had been taken from their homes? …How many had managed to return? I knew the answer to that last question would be bleak.

Riana sighed. "I can literally _feel_ how miserable you are right now. How about we take your mind off your impending despair, huh?"

_What do you mean? _I thought at her, but she only smiled, holding out a hand.

"Come on, come meet the others. They've been waiting to meet you."

They flocked forth then, as it at some invisible signal. The dome was suddenly full of mermaids and as Riana led me into the centre of the sandy floor they circled and flitted through shafts of light. Their colours shimmered magnificently: liquid gold and platinum, sapphire blues and ruby reds, and as I stared my trepidation began to wane. These were no creatures to be feared, they were exquisite, beautiful beyond belief! The sudden urge to accept them as such was nearly overwhelming. A little voice at the back of my mind screamed at me – that these were not my thoughts, not my feelings, they were other – but it was easily quelled beneath the mass. With the mermaids came a flood of words and emotion – nonsensical and fully-formed, enthusiastic and intrigued. There was no malice, no hostility, just interest; and they fluttered about like butterflies or flashing fish in a rainbow shoal. _Sister_, they called – a thousand silent voices at once.

Beneath the myriad of consuming thought I began to drown, in an entirely different way. I felt myself slipping, losing my grip, losing myself. I was swept away on a tide of _their_ making, and I began to forget how I had come to be here, and why I should be afraid. There was no room for fear. Not among my own kind, not among my sisters.

_Edward_, that little voice screamed, but it faded fast.

I forgot about the surface-world, I forgot about my mother and my father, I forgot about school and my friends. And I forgot about the girl was who had once been Bella Swan…

…


	5. Chapter 5 - Realisation

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

**Enjoy, Nemma :)**

…

Chapter 5: Realisation – Jacob POV

The car was in flames. It was just lying there, in flames, while Edward tore rocks the size of boulders out of the coastline and smashed them into dust. This had been going on for some time now. He'd been like this ever since he'd gotten back.

Jacob had watched Edward first through Sam's eyes as he'd smashed the jeep into a line of trees and tore past him onto the beach followed by Jasper and Emmett without so much as one look back at the then-smoking wreck. Then he had watched through Seth's eyes as Edward tracked and re-tracked and tracked the scent again while some mechanical malfunction caused the car to ignite. Jacob had lost count of how many times and how many routes Edward had taken now. But they all led him back to his original place – the beach.

Her scent went no further than there.

And it was driving him crazy.

The drying blood was driving him craz_ier_.

"BELLA!" Edward shouted across the sea.

Alice had long since quieted her cries, now she just stared, stood and stared like a marble statue with glassy eyes across the blue horizon.

Jacob finally joined them in person – or rather, in wolf – as Carlisle was making yet another vain attempt to calm Edward down.

"Son, please," he beseeched, as the car's orange flames danced and whooshed, "let us just take a moment to talk about this, to think this through. We might-"

"-No, Carlisle," he practically snarled as water ran in rivulets from his sodden bronze hair, he had been in and out of the lapping waves non-stop, "every moment I pause is another moment she is in danger! I can't stop, I can't! If I do she might… she might be…"

Edward's face crumpled, but only for a fraction of a second, in the next instant he was gone – a white blur across the landscape.

In silence, Jacob padded from the outlying bracken onto the beaches' crunchy shale.

_Edward's already checked that route_, Seth thought sadly from where he sat beneath a pine tree, _five hundred and fifty two times… _

_I know, _Jacob thought, _I've been counting too_.

_Hey Bro! _Seth sat up and wagged his tail. _I didn't know you were this close_.

_I passed the Washington border about an hour ago. You were too preoccupied to notice. _Both of their thoughts sank as a painfully familiar face flashed across their minds – dark hair, so shiny and beautiful, those chocolate brown eyes – Jacob wasn't even sure whose the memory was. It could have been either one of theirs. _Any chance I missed something while I was running?_ Jacob asked as he winced. He hoped, perhaps…

_No, no news, no leads, nothing. It's like she just vanished into thin air…_

Seth shook his head, stupefied, and Jacob silently wandered ahead of him.

Sam was not far from the shore, Leah and Embry flanked him as he stoically watched the six vampires debate amongst themselves. Their voices were so fast that they were nothing more than a buzz – _stupid vampire speech_. It was creepy.

"Perhaps if we call the Denali's," Rosalie chimed in, "maybe this time they will help?"

Carlisle's face turned stony. "Remember what they asked of us last time, Rosalie? That is not a price I am willing to pay, and neither should you be."

"We need to expand our search grid," the scarred male added, stepping forward, "and we _need_ more people to search if we are to make better progress."

Sam stepped forward and huffed. _You have our full co-operation_, he thought, _our protection applies to Bella too. She is still human_.

Carlisle stared at him for a moment, before sighing. "I'm so sorry, Sam. Without Edward here to translate, I have no idea what you're saying."

Sam only nodded in response, chagrined.

Jacob didn't care to listen what they had to say and none of the leeches acknowledged him as he padded past. Sam nodded slightly in his direction and from Embry's thoughts he could sense pity. He ignored them all, looking only to the mark ahead on the beach.

The dark patch stood out like an accusation, dark red on the pebbles.

Jake sniffed. Yeah, there was no denying it – the blood was Bella's. He'd known before but had wanted to examine it himself, to smell it, to see it. And he realised then that some part of his mind had been hoping that it wasn't real, that someone had made a mistake, but no.

A white blur whooshed past him, spraying pebbles as it flew in the opposite direction.

Jacob didn't even have to sniff to know it was Edward.

There was a roar, frighteningly loud, and an almighty SMASH!

"Edward, please," Carlisle said, though with no real volume.

Another smash followed, more boulders pulverised. A tree was torn from its roots; soil flew in a gritty arch fifty feet high. Bark turned to splinters, rock to dust. And still he did not stop, showed no signs of calming. The destruction continued.

_Finally he's showing what kind of monster he really is_, Jacob thought absently, _and Bella isn't around to see it_.

When the chaos quieted and the dust settled, Edward stood amidst the rubble looking blankly at his dirty hands. He looked at them as if he did not know them, as if he couldn't understand what he saw. He blinked and the confusion cleared. Then he turned on his sister.

"Alice, you _have_ to have seen something since it happened," he snapped, striding towards her with fiercely black eyes. Those eyes chilled like dark voids, both terrifying and infinite. "Something," he continued, "anything, the tiniest detail, a vague flash?"

Beneath such desperate fury, his sister seemed to shrink.

"I…I-I don't know-"

"What do you mean you _don't know_?!" he demanded. Those black eyes burned, spearing her in place.

There was a flash of white and another one of those leeches was at her side – the one with honey blond hair and innumerable scars. He stood half in front of Alice, as if he meant to shield her. Jacob remembered then that this was Alice's mate, Jasper.

"Edward…" he said, a low growl.

Edward didn't even seem to notice him. His burning gaze was locked on Alice.

"I just _don't know_," Alice wailed. Lips quivering, she fell to her knees. "Everything is black. Pitch black, it's like… it's like…" she seemed to struggle, not finding the words. Jake had never seen a vampire so lost. They always had a quick quip for everything.

Finally the little pixie looked up to Edward, communicating with her eyes alone.

"No," he gasped. "Don't even think it."

Shaking his head Edward stepped back, again, and again.

_What?_ Jacob frowned. _What had she thought?_

"No!" Edward barked. "SHE IS NOT DEAD!"

And he was gone again.

A distant ripping noise signalled another tree being uprooted. A snarl, a smash…

As Jasper knelt quietly by Alice's side, she hung her head, pressing her forehead into the sand and raking up trenches of sand with her nails as she gasped wordless sobs.

Jacob was at a loss. Around him the other werewolves shuffled just as uncomfortably. Vampires weren't supposed to be human, they weren't supposed to have human emotions, let alone express them so violently… and to see them do that now was nothing short of bizarre.

Leah growled, not liking the uncertainty. Paul shuffled; confusion prominent in his thoughts. Sam's mind was simply logistical, trying to assess the situation and how it might be resolved. He tried, and failed, to think of any way they might get Bella back… unharmed.

Jake flinched at that, vainly trying to block out the hopelessness in Sam's thoughts.

Another roar, another boom like thunder… and the cliff-face crumbled into the sea.

Everybody froze, staring.

The whole, freaking, cliff-face!

Rocks and dirt and debris tumbled down in an unearthly roar, taking a few trees with them as the avalanche built. They collided with the dark surf, and the sea frothed up where they fell, forming a tidal wave that travelled out to splash upon the shale and their feet.

Everyone stood perfectly still.

Edward had just torn a chunk out of the La Push landscape.

_Wow_, Jacob thought into the stony silence, _well that was overkill_.

Edward was suddenly in his face – blazing black eyes burned into him with such rage that before Jake could think about it he'd stumbled back and fallen onto his haunches.

"And how do you think I should be reacting, DOG?!" Edward snarled. "Should I sit meekly by and just watch like a mindless imbecile? Do you think that what you're doing is going to achieve any better results?!"

_Hey-_

"I thought you loved her," his voice turned scathingly cold. "From what I can hear of your thoughts you could hardly care about her disappearance less!"

_Whoa, wait a sec-_

"I was wrong before. I see that now." He nodded, almost solemnly, but his lips curled to bare lethally sharp teeth. "I should never have even entertained the possibility of stepping aside for the likes of _you_. You think you could give Bella a better life than I ever could, but you don't deserve her, you never could, not in a _million years YOU WITLESS MONGREL!_"

"Edward!" Esme gasped, but Jacob's hackles had already risen.

_I LOVE HER! _he snarled, rising up to face him.

"YOU DON'T SHOW IT!" Edward roared, far beyond fury.

He wanted a fight, Jacob could feel that. And damn if he wanted it too.

_WHY DO THINK I'M HERE! _Jacob snarled back, baring his own teeth – they were just as sharp, sharper! – and pawing the ground. _Do you think I came back just to stare at your smug sparkly face?! Damn it, leech, I've been going out of my MIND watching all this through Seth's eyes! You ARE NOT the only one here who loves Bella! _

In his mind Jacob was screaming. The other wolves heard well enough but beyond their pack-mind all was silent. Jacob panted, trying to get a grip on his fury as he looked about. Everyone was staring at him, at Edward, at them both. But none had moved between them. No one had so much as stepped forward. Not even Carlisle or Sam. They all looked… lost, ragged, beaten…

The usually immaculate Rosalie was a sodden mess, face smeared with sea-salt, hair in tattered disarray. Emmett stood by her, fists clenching and unclenching as if he wished to fight but could see no enemies in sight. Esme silently sobbed dry tears. Carlisle looked on, eyes glazed. Alice was still slumped in the sand, her cheeks streaked with grit and a piece of weed hanging from her hair, while Jasper fretted beside her, his attention solely on her. And around them the wolves paced, nerves frayed to the bitter edge.

_You are not the only one here who loves Bella_, Jake repeated, adding, _and neither am I_.

The energy suddenly drained from him and he sank back to the ground. Behind him, Jake heard the sound of stone hitting pebbles. Edward had collapsed; crouching on the shale, face in his hands as he groaned. It was awful, the long undulating keen of an animal in agony.

_I've never seen him like this_, Seth thought morosely. _It's like his world has ended_.

As if on some unheard cue, the caramel-haired Esme approached, using slow measured steps as if she were approaching a wild animal that may bolt or strike out at any second. She was the only one that dared to go near him, and her motherly voice was gentle.

"Edward, Edward dear, you do not possess the monopoly on love for Bella," she said. "We all know how much you love her. There is no contesting that. She is your world, I know. But we, all of us here, love her too."

There was a semi-disgruntled huff from Leah, but she said nothing contradictory out loud. Instead she shifted to the shoreline as Esme knelt and drew Edward into her arms.

_What's this?_ Leah asked as she snuffled in the purple-grey shale.

Sam padded over to her and looked while the vampires consoled their own. _Just some fish scales_, he huffed,_ it's nothing_.

_They're odd_, she frowned. _They don't have any scent_.

_Some odd-looking fish-scales are hardly our number one priority right now, Leah_.

Sam's voice was full of exasperation and Jacob felt Leah's pang as he reprimanded her – no matter how quickly she covered it. With a huff she turned.

_Now_, Sam continued, thinking to the rest, _we have to look to our own borders. There is clearly some kind of threat in the region and while we will help in this search for Bella_ – Jacob felt a flash of hopelessness that Sam did not voice – _we have our own to protect. I want double shifts, four wolves patrolling at all times, two extra on stand-by. Paul, you'll be…_

Jacob ignored the rest; allowing Sam's words to wash over him like the tide that was slowly washing away the remains of Bella's blood. He didn't feel like Bella was dead. That's what the rest were thinking, even indirectly, but he didn't, he couldn't. He'd know, right? If she was… he'd know somehow…

Jake looked to Edward and saw his dark eyes on him. Edward would know too. Sure he was angry, sure he was stark-raving-vampire-bat-shit crazy… but he wasn't distraught.

If Bella was gone, truly gone, he would be distraught.

Edward's nod was barely perceptible but Jake was sure that he saw it.

Jake could almost feel relief… almost, but Bella was still missing. And how on earth were they supposed to track her with no scent-trail to follow?

As if Edward were listening in to his thoughts – and probably the hopeless thoughts of the others – his agonised groaning heightened and he curled further in on himself.

_Cripes, he looks almost as bad as Bella did when he left._

Seth's thoughts did not help. If anything the groans worsened.

After an indefinite – and really awkward – moment, Sam trudged into the treeline, emerging minutes later wearing denim cut-off shorts and rubbing a tanned hand through his sheared short hair.

"Sam," Carlisle said, a greeting and a question in one.

"It was too difficult to talk otherwise," Sam said, "and I think we all need to sit down and talk this through."

Somehow, with that statement, the tension seemed to break. And given something else to focus on, Sam, the wolves, Carlisle and all of his coven but Esme and Edward, huddled into a loose circle and began to discuss options – as vague as they were.

Jake did not join them. Instead, he watched Esme as she tried to comfort Edward on the pebbly sand. Her graceful face was so kind and so loving. She actually did look like his mother, and he actually looked like her son… It was creepy. She even muttered lovingly in his ear as she held onto him and stroked his hair.

"Not Italy, not Italy…" It sounded like she was muttering, on a continuous loop. "Please, not Italy, not It-"

"I promised Bella that I would never do that again," he grated in response, quickly adding, "not without proof."

At one point, Jake decided to flit into the bushes and change – luckily he still had one pair of shorts attached to his leg, threadbare but wearable. The others chatted back and forth, discussing various options that all sounded like dead-end routes. Jake hardly paid attention. He couldn't afford to, not if he was to stay sane.

After a while the others dispersed; Sam and the wolves to patrol the perimeter in groups of two or three, looking for any leads, and Carlisle and his coven, well… from what Jake had barely overheard, it sounded like Emmett and Rosalie were to search the far south while Jasper went north with the wolves. Carlisle and Alice were to return to their home and make some important phone calls.

When everyone started to leave, Carlisle turned to Esme and Edward where they sat.

"Edward," he said, kind and understanding, "please, son, return to the house with us."

His coaxing tone did nothing. Edward wasn't going to budge anytime soon.

"Someone needs to stay here," Edward eventually muttered, so low that even Jake with his heightened sense had a hard time catching it. "Just in case… she… Bella might…"

No one knew what to say to that. So no one said anything. After a time, Carlisle sighed, looking more tired than any vampire had a right to, and looked anxiously over his shoulder to the treeline.

"I'll stay with him," Esme said, "you go along and we'll return when we can."

"Okay, love," Carlisle said, clearly relieved, "but try to make it soon. I don't like leaving you out here… with whatever may be on the loose." He shook his head, disturbed, as his eyes flitted across the horizon. Nothing hovered over there but seagulls. "What about you, Jacob? Would you like to return to the house with me and help us there?"

Jake started, surprised he'd asked. Looking past him, he noticed that all of the others had already gone: coven and pack. So much for Team Wolf – they'd left him with the blood-suckers without a second thought. Well, at least they were _that_ invested in getting Bella back.

"Err… I think I'll stay here with these two. Keep watch."

Jacob could see the surprise in Esme's face, even he himself was surprised.

"As you wish," Carlisle nodded, "but know that you are welcome in our house at any time, Jacob."

Before Jake could respond there was a gust of wind and Carlisle was gone. _Eager to sort out his search for Bella_, Jake thought. Well that could only be a good thing.

"He knows that if he loses Bella, he loses me too," a ragged voice said. It sounded nothing like Edward's normally musical cadence. "He loses us both. And he cannot bear the thought of that… two children in one day… why did you stay Jacob?"

Turning back to the remaining pair, Jake saw that Esme was watching him with an almost quizzical expression, but it was to Edward that he spoke, directly and without pause.

"Whatever else you may think of me, you _know_ that I love her too."

There was silence, so long that Jake thought he meant to ignore him completely. It wasn't that he didn't care about Bella. Far from it! It was just that… he couldn't see anything that he could do. Edward, and the Cullens and the Pack before him, had checked and rechecked everything, every route. There were no options left and Jake felt strangely… useless. It _wasn't_ that he didn't care. The silence stretched on, and then…

"I do," Edward muttered into his hands. "I can see that in your thoughts. I've always been able to see it. However much I sometimes wish I couldn't."

Beside him, Esme knelt quietly, her golden eyes watching.

Jake took a deep breath, and released it. "Then you'll know that I'm staying, and that, whatever resentment stands between the two of us… it…" He could hardly believe what he was saying, but the words just kept tumbling out, "…well, it doesn't matter now. Not with what's happened, not with Bella on the line…"

Edward slowly looked up and, for the first time, he seemed to really be listening to him.

"How are you coping with this?" Edward asked. "I've heard your thoughts before. I know how you felt when you were sure you'd lost her. Those feelings are what drove you away. They are why you have been running as a wolf for these past weeks. How are you coping now that Bella's life is in imminent danger and there is nothing that either one of us can do to change that?"

Jake thought about it, considering. "I guess… I just haven't let it sink in." He knew that if he did that'd be it. He'd be useless… likely as useless as Edward, groaning in the sand.

In a flash Edward was up, stood straight on his feet.

Jake grimaced. "I didn't mean-"

"You're right," Edward said, as if with a dawning epiphany. "I'll accomplish nothing succumbing to such fear. Wallowing is useless. Action is what's needed. I need to-"

"-_WE_ need to," Jake interrupted and Edward's eyes snapped up sharply, locking on him. Jacob did not flinch. "I'm here and I'm staying," he said forcefully, "Bella is my best friend, if nothing else. And I'm staying until we get her back."

Edward's nod was barely perceptible. "Until we get her back," he repeated, so faintly that Jacob didn't even hear him. He only saw the movement of his lips. But it was enough.

In those words was conviction.

"Esme," Edward said, his voice sure and strong as he held out a hand, "let us return home, we have a search to plan." Grasping her hand and pulling her up, he turned to Jacob. "We are going to leave no avenue unchecked, no forest or sea uncharted, and no stone unturned… whatever it takes, however long it take, we are _going_ to get Bella back. There is no other option." For a moment, his eyes glazed, becoming black and distant. And as his lips pulled back over his teeth, Jake got a glimpse of the monster beneath – the nightmare that he could truly be. "And God help whoever took her because when I find them…"

"Seconded," Jacob muttered, and, for the very first – and probably only – time, they were in perfect agreement. "And we _will_ find her."

Edward's black eyes pierced him in place, "Agreed."

…

**Thanks for your comments, they are greatly appreciated. A**** big THANKS! to those who have fol/fav/reviewed. **

**Nemma :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Maritime Life

**Thank you everyone for your support: fols/favs/reviews. There have been some interesting comments so far, it's great to see what you guys think about where this could be going. Hope you enjoy the next part, Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 6: Maritime Life – Bella POV

At times, it was hard to remember who I was. But eventually I always did.

_Bella, I am Bella. _

There were always so many thoughts buzzing about in the background, like a static orchestra of other sounds, that it was sometimes hard to tell which ones were my own. But the foreign thoughts of my sisters held their own distinct… I didn't know what to call it… flavour, perhaps? They _felt_ different, and after a while, it became easier to tell them apart.

Over time it became too easy to immerse myself in their collective. I forgot about time and its passage, I forgot that I had things I should worry about, people I should consider…

Sometimes I would remember, but the mass of voices would distract me again.

One day, I found myself lounging on the cool sandy floor of the dome with a few others. The water was smooth and relaxing and I stared up at the glittering sunlight above, swishing my icy blue tail and allowing the scales to sparkle. The entrance was there, right above me, but I had no reason to go through it. Why should I? My sisters were inside.

Then I frowned… there was a reason I should leave. _Wouldn't Edward be missing me?_

As I was contemplating this, a shriek down a tunnel announced Riana's arrival. She came baring gifts of tuna and shrimp, and she brought company. Two girls flitted alongside her: a blonde with a sharp red tail and a brunette with silver scales. I had met the blonde before, her name was Lilith, but the other was unfamiliar. A brief perusal of her thoughts told me that she was Tara.

"Lovely day for a picnic," Riana said as she passed me a tuna fillet.

The meat was juicy and lush and my little fangs tore the meat to shreds. As I munched their chattering rolled around me. I had never been a big conversationalist, I had always been the quiet one in class, and even though I wasn't in high school anymore that had not changed, as Riana discovered to her great exasperation. She took to calling me 'the hermit crab' because I so rarely 'stuck my head out of my shell'. It irritated her to no end that I didn't join the ranks as easily as other initiates, but, as always, something seemed to set me apart.

"So I said the Lucrezia," Riana was saying, "I said you can chase her tail all over Dakara but you are not going to get that tooth-pin back!"

I still only understood half of their conversations. Dakara, as I had come to learn, was the name of our vast colony – our underwater Atlantis – but other names that they used eluded me. It wasn't that I couldn't understand their speech; in fact I heard them perfectly. I was still amazed at how easy it was to speak underwater. _It felt just like on land_.

"A benefit of our marvellous gills," Riana added when she caught my thought.

I nodded absently, wondering what Edward would make of this development if he were ever to learn of it. Thoughts of him didn't hurt as much as they used to. I pined for him, sure, but there was no desperate drive to get back to him… I wondered why.

"That will be due to your mermaid emotions," Lilith said, and when I looked up she shrugged, "We have none."

"But I still wanted to go home when I first woke up," I said, "I missed my family terribly." I frowned, remembering the hollow ache I usually got when parted from Edward.

"And now?" Lilith queried as she tore out another hunk of fish with her sharp teeth.

I shrugged. _Now nothing, it has turned into nothing more than a numb patch. _

She nodded as I idly rubbed my stomach – the ragged hole there used to weep. "It all dims with time," she said, "It's the same for everyone. The drive to leave eventually fades."

"It's a shame really," the other girl, Tara, said. "If Bella was really wrought up about her fiancé, we'd have an excuse to bring him down here. Mara could turn him too."

A spike of what could have been alarm pierced my chest, but it was too quickly numbed for me to be sure.

"You know that's not allowed," Lilith said, pinning the girl with a steely glare. "We do _not_ allow men in Dakara. That rule is absolute!"

I wondered at her tone. She sneered the word 'men' like it was an expletive.

"There are always exceptions," Tara muttered.

"Oh," Riana said, and her eyes brightened with understanding – although I didn't know why. "_You're_ that girl the red-headed vamp was after."

I jolted like I'd received an electric shock. "What?" _How had she…?_

I delved into her thoughts and released that she had been absently flicking through _mine_. My image of Edward had intrigued her and she had looked further.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, becoming more and more animated, "she was after some girl that was roped into her mate's death, got real OTT about it. She was manic, created a real mess making her new-born army up in Seattle. We steered clear of the city shores for months once she got into the full flow of things. It was far too dangerous to hang around near that many blood-crazed newborns."

She shivered. But I was still gaping in shock.

"You… know about vampires?"

She cocked her head and looked at me like I was incredibly dense.

_Of course they know_, I thought, _they've read my thoughts_.

"Well yeah, that too," she said slowly, "but _everyone_ here knows about vampires, they're like… our cousin species or something. At least that's what Mara says."

The blonde-haired mermaid, Lilith, added knowledgeably, "If they are the blood-drinkers of the land, we are the blood-drinkers of the sea."

_Wait, what?_ "…You drink blood?"

This was the first I'd heard about it. Although, considering how I'd been taken…

Tara shrugged, negligently, "To an extent."

"Although, I've got to admit," Riana said, "I think vampires got the better end of the deal. On land you can get satellite TV."

"And chocolate," Tara added.

"Yeah," Riana lamented, "I miss that. It's not like we have stacks of it in our food store."

I shook my head, "And everyone knows about Victoria?" All three looked at me blankly, until I added, "The red-head."

"Oh," Tara said, "was that her name?"

"Yeah," Riana nodded, answering my question, "everyone knew, I mean _knows_. That cow was a menace, caused a hell of a lot of trouble to get to… well, _you_, apparently, as well as your coven of yellowed-eyed vamps. You're seriously going to have to tell me the story about that at some point, it's got to be more gripping than mine."

Due to the whole telepathic-thought-connection thing these mermaids had going on, my whole life was laid bare. They saw and read it all. For the first time in my life I could truly sympathise with Jake's situation – it was awful. I might have been more upset about it if they had found my mind anything more than slightly interesting, but for the most part they glossed over the details and left me with what privacy they could. They truly tried too, their thoughts could attest to that – I could read them as easily as they could read my own – and I tried to extend them the same courtesy… but what Riana had said intrigued me.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

I was truly curious, but I was also desperate to deflect the conversation.

"Glad you asked, happy to tell." She cleared her throat theatrically. "One dark, moonless night last fall, I was roaming the streets of Seattle… Pretty cool start, huh?"

"Why were you roaming the streets at night?" I asked, frowning.

She shrugged. "I was clubbing it, lost my mates. What, you didn't think I was whoring, did ya?"

"No," I gasped. "I didn't mean-"

"-I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," she cut me off, laughing, "As is my usual prerogative." Riana, I had come to learn, had a really odd sense of humour. "Anyway," she continued, "this guy jumped me. I thought I was being mugged and he was after my bag." She laughed bitterly, "apparently not. I don't remember that much – it happened really fast – but I do remember these creepily red eyes, and I mean like freaking bright red, and then this ripping agony in my throat. I struggled, _obviously_, I even maced the guy, didn't do much good as I'm sure you can imagine."

She paused, considering. "I wonder… if it'd been garlic, would it have worked?"

I shook my head sadly.

"Darn, oh well."

I frowned. "I thought you knew about vampires?"

"We do," Lilith nodded, "but we're a little sketchy on the details. Hey, it's not like we hang out with them on a regular basis and they're not always too happy to dish out trade secrets either. We might be sort of like family, _species-wise_, but we're just not that close."

"Yeah," Riana added, "we're the kind of family that keeps vague contact through birthday cards and only sees each other on the high-holidays, if then."

"Okay," I said, "so what happened to you, Riana? Obviously the vampire didn't turn you."

"The red-heads newborns weren't exactly tidy with their kills but apparently my attacker was a neat-freak and he cleaned up – lucky for me."

She sighed and her thoughts grew a little darker.

"He mustn't have noticed that I wasn't completely dead, or he just didn't care, cause he took me down to the docks. There was this little place where a few of the newborn vamps used to dump bodies. He'd drained me to near-death but my heart was still beating slowly and I was still aware of things. He threw me in and left without a backward glance. Guess he thought if he hadn't killed me the water would."

She shrugged, the darkness lifted.

"Mara found me not long after that, floating in the estuary, and realised she could save me. She brought me back here to Dakara and I've lived happily ever after since – the end."

That was… surprising. I hadn't really thought that there were that many other girls out there with as much association with the supernatural world as me, let alone in Washington. But still, she seemed to know an awful lot about vampires, more than my thoughts had told her.

"I'm curious," I said aloud, "how is it you know so much about vampires?"

"Oh, this is pretty cool, check this out right." She leant in as if she were sharing a state secret, and whispered, "we have a vampire resident."

"What?!"

I baulked, my eyes darting in all directions – to every tunnel entrance.

"Whoa, chill," Riana laughed. "He's a red-eye but he's not dangerous."

"I think the red-eyes are the very definition of dangerous." _She should know that_.

Riana rolled her eyes, "Yeah, for a _human_ – which we most definitely are not."

"I thought you said before that there was a 'no men' rule, or something," I gasped.

"Always exceptions," Tara muttered.

Lilith leant forward then, saying, "The man hangs around here sometimes, gets a thrill out of the whole living-under-the-sea-with-mermaids thing. He goes by the name Randall."

_Randall_… I tried to remember if the name had come up in passing with the Cullens, but I was drawing a blank, "Never heard of him."

Riana shrugged, chewing on her tuna. "Not surprising, newbie. He's a nomad, usually keeps to himself. I think he has a thing for Kiera though, might be why he's here so often."

"You said he's not dangerous to us. We still have blood…"

She was already shaking her head, "it's not the same as human blood, and although it smells sweet it's just not that appealing. Randall says the scent is too similar to his own kind to even consider drinking it. He also said that he couldn't even smell it until he got _really_ close." She giggled, "That makes me really wander about him and Kiera. Although, we still have to watch out around new-borns, those suckers bite anything that moves."

"Wait, so this vampire, this Randall, just stays here… with us?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"What about air? I mean, I know vampires don't need to breathe but I always assumed it got really uncomfortable when they didn't for a long time. Not to mention that they need the air to talk."

Lilith was the one to answer this time. "We have some chambers in the colony with air pockets, we call them _dry rooms_. They usually have a pool leading up to a shore and a small amount of land. There's only three, maybe four, of those types of rooms in the tunnels."

Once again I glanced around at the numerous tunnel openings.

"Is Randall in the colony now?"

"Ah, that was subtle," Riana laughed, a little sardonically, "You want to meet the guy?"

Truthfully, I wasn't sure.

Lilith swallowed her last bite of tuna. "Sorry sweet-pea, you're out of luck. He left to hunt about a week ago, we haven't seen him since."

"That doesn't mean he won't come back though," Riana added, "we'll probably see him in another week and I'll arrange the introductions. With you being who you are I'll bet he'll be interested to meet you too."

"Riana, I'd prefer you didn't tell him who I am if you see him."

Her eyebrows rose in question.

"I haven't exactly made myself popular to some vampires and although I don't know this man…" I left the rest unsaid, but she heard it clearly in my thoughts. _Victoria, Volterra_…

"Ah, I get it: safety in anonymity." She tapped her nose and stage-whispered, "Your secret is safe with us."

Riana clapped her hands together then. "So, to sum up: I was attacked by a vampire and saved by a mermaid which, you've got to admit, is pretty radical, huh? Bet you 50 shells no one can top that supernatural malarkey."

At that I perked up. "I dated a vampire and a werewolf… sort of." All three looked to me with varying levels of amusement and surprise. "I'm now engaged to one," I finished.

"Okay," Riana said, "it's not a contest." She held up her hands as the other two laughed, but I heard her mutter under her breath, "Thunder – stealing – much?"

As the others drifted off into their own chatter, Riana leaned over to me.

"Glad to see 'the hermit' poke her head out of her shell," she whispered into my ear.

"Speaking of shells…" I whispered back, "You owe me 50, I think."

…

That day in the dome had been something of an ice-breaker. A week passed, maybe more. I settled into life in the colony, I swam the tunnels, I slept in the hollow cave Riana and I shared, I ate tuna, I talked to my sisters… I cycled back on repeat. There was never any sign of rescue, never any glimpse of a Cullen. And somehow, I forgot to care about it. My sisters kept my mind too occupied to care. And I began to find that I liked living among them.

"Which one?" Riana asked me one day as we swam from our cave to the dome.

"Huh?" I asked, too lost in my own thoughts to follow hers.

"Which one did you choose in the end? When you told us about the vampire and the werewolf, you said you're engaged to one?"

I noticed she didn't say _were _engaged and for that I was grateful.

"The vampire."

It felt so weird referring to Edward in that way, just as 'The Vampire'. And for a moment, just a moment, I felt a prick of something in my chest, like the ghost of a hole…

"Totally the one I'd pick." Riana nodded her approval.

"You don't even _know_ either of them," I protested.

She shrugged. "I'd still pick the vamp."

"Really…? Even after what happened to you in Seattle?"

"Well hey, I'm rolling with the assumption that it wasn't your vamp-boy that did that."

"No, he's a vegetarian."

"He's a veg…" She collapsed into shrieks of laughter that drew the attention of several others. It took her a while to sober; she tried to catch her breath while clutching at her sides and weeping. "That's the best damn thing I've ever heard – a vegetarian vampire! What does he drink – tree sap?!"

"Animal blood," I answered indignantly.

She sobered instantly. "Oh yeah, that'd work."

As we swam she fell into thought, and eventually said, "Shame it doesn't work for us. We're blood-drinkers too, though we don't need it anywhere near as often as vamps. From what I hear they have a near-constant thirst, is that right?"

I nodded, remembering what Edward had told me.

"It's like a hot iron in their throats."

"Y-ouch," she cringed, "that's sucks. No pun intended."

"What about us?" The lethargy that usually engulfed my mind began to lift a little. "What do you mean we're blood-drinkers?"

"N-uh." She shook her head, sending her red hair drifting. "No need to worry about that now. Let's go grab some fish. I saw Tara bringing in a shoal of cod earlier, grubs up!"

Too late, I thought as we swam, I _was_ worrying about that now.

…


	7. Chapter 7 - Forks on Alert

**Note: Last chapter I mentioned a vampire named Randall. I forgot to mention that he was listed in the Breaking Dawn Vampire Index as one of the nomads the Cullens knew that came to witness and stand up to the Volturi. Just so you know. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 7: Forks on Alert – Jacob POV

The moon was at its zenith when Jacob trudged out of the trees at the back of Charlie's house, but it didn't matter, the place was lit up like a Christmas tree, with all the curtains open and the back and front doors flung wide as if to invite the world in. People, officers mainly, strode in and out as they chatted. Ever since Bella's disappearance, Charlie's home had turned into the Head-Quarters for the search. And even now, two police cars were parked on the drive with three other plain vehicles – volunteers, most likely. To one side, Bella's truck stood eerily still beneath its tree, silently accumulating rust and leaves.

"Hi," a grim looking Tyler called as he saw Jake.

He and the Newton boy were hanging about by one of the plain cars, a silver SUV.

"You on patrol detail tonight?" Jake asked as he approached.

"Yep," Mike said, "we're driving the coastal route over to La Push."

Jake paused. "It's late for that isn't it? It's got to be what, 11 o'clock now?"

The boys exchanged a wary glance.

"Actually," Tyler said, lowering his voice, "don't tell Charlie, but Officer Mark wants us to check the area down Bogachiel Way… along the river…"

For a second Jake didn't get what they meant and when he looked at Mike the other boy lowered his eyes, shuffling his feet. Oh.

"We're supposed to still be working on a 'search and rescue'," Jake said slowly, "…But now Officer Mark has people searching for a body?"

The words came out plainly, without emotion, but inside he was fuming. Fists clenched, he began to shake. _Hold it together_…

"It's been weeks now," Mike muttered quietly, "I want Bella to be okay too but…"

Jacob stopped listening there, he pushed past them. He'd always hated Newton anyway; boy couldn't make it through a damn monster movie without throwing up.

"Don't tell the Chief," Tyler hissed behind him.

Without knocking, Jake strode right in, past coffee-baring men in uniform and women pinning notes onto a map of the US that covered the living room wall, and into the overcrowded kitchen – the hub of their communal effort. Charlie was stood there, arms splayed as he leant over the assorted papers spread out across the spindly pine table, examining them. In the corner his tackle box and fishing rods lay, with a thin coating of dust.

"Hello Jacob," Charlie said as he glanced up, "I didn't hear your car pull up."

"You probably wouldn't have with all of the noise going on in here," he said, adding, "I parked down the street." He didn't need to know that he'd ran here.

Charlie nodded absently, already distracted by whatever lay in front of him. The truth was that Jake rarely drove now. He was always too nervous, too raw… too close to the edge. And no wolf wanted to phase in his newly re-modelled car, not after putting months of work into the re-fitting. Bella had watched him while he'd tweaked the engine, spending hours in his garage while they sipped warm sodas and laughed and joked. The memories hit hard now, whenever he looked at the car. They made it near-impossible to drive. But more than that – the Rabbit was just too slow. Jake needed to run, to feel the power in his limbs as he pelted full tilt. He needed to feel as if he had the power to reach somewhere as fast as he could. He needed to feel as if his speed could make a difference.

"How's Edward?" Charlie suddenly asked, cutting into his thoughts. Though he paid no real attention to the answer, far too busy sorting through the maps on the table.

"Better not to ask," Jake cringed, "what about Renee?"

"She's about as well as can be expecting – that is to say, she's spiralling out of control." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I never thought I'd be thankful that she has Phil."

Jake only nodded to that, and then he yawned. His actions made Charlie frown.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"When was the last time _you_ slept?" he retorted.

"I don't know," Charlie shrugged, "when was the Laker's Game?"

"Monday."

"A few days before that then, I guess."

From the living room came the squeal of wheels and then Billy was rolling himself into the kitchen. He was looking more haggard these days, Jake thought as he looked at the shadows beneath his father's eyes. This search was taking its toll on him too. He looked nowhere near as bad as Charlie though, with his oddly-buttoned shirt, blood-shot eyes, and hair in uncombed disarray… the stubble on his chin was at the point where it could almost be considered a true beard. Charlie looked cool with a moustache, but odd with a beard.

"Charlie," Billy said, coaxingly, "you need rest."

Chief Swan grated, "What I need is to find my daughter."

There had been a debate in the beginning – about what to tell Charlie about Bella. When it became clear that she wasn't going to found quickly everyone knew that he had to be told something, but what? In the end Sam and Carlisle decided to tell him the truth, or at least as much of it as was safe. He now knew that Bella had gone missing while on the phone to Alice and that Alice and Jasper had tracked her phone by GPS to find her gone. Edward was called then, just before Charlie. That's what they told him. And since that point he had been too ensconced in the search to question the details too closely.

Billy sighed, breaking Jake's reverie. "We all want that," he said, "but you'll be no good to her as you are. You're dead on your legs."

"He's right, Charlie," Jake added. "You need rest. What would Bella think if she came home to find you this way, huh? She'd scold you like a kindergartener caught watching cartoons after midnight."

He tried to laugh, to get Charlie to join in too, but nobody was feeling it.

And what Charlie said next cut through Jacob's heart like a knife.

"I was supposed to walk her down the aisle today. My little girl…"

With a drawn out sigh he scrubbed his face with both hands and made for the stairs. His steps were laboured and slow and his entire figure seemed to slump as he walked – as if he barely possessed to strength to keep standing. They listened to the wood creak as Charlie climbed and then the definitive clap of a bedroom door. When Jake looked back, Billy was eyeing him closely. He must have seen his grimace.

"Jacob…" Billy started, reaching out.

But Jake shook his head, stepping back. "Today was always going to be a bad day."

_The day that she would have married _him_… _

Billy nodded, sympathy in his eyes, and let his hand fall.

"Any luck with the… err… patrols?" he asked, subtly redirecting.

"Nothing," Jake sighed. He was really starting to feel the weight of the last week. "Nothing whatsoever, we're running lower on options every day."

"I wish I was out there," Billy lamented, "with you and Sam running patrols. If I could have… perhaps I might have…"

"Dad," Jake said, "you're doing a lot here, simply by being here for Charlie. Not to mention all the work you're doing re-directing the humans from the most dangerous areas," he added in a whisper. "That's no small thing."

But Billy looked far from assured; he looked miserable, almost as miserable as Charlie.

Jake sighed. "Look, dad, _we_ are out there," he emphasised in a way that unmistakably meant the wolves, "all ten of us, and we still can't find anything… and neither can the Cullens. Whatever happened, whatever 'it' is that took Bella, it's beyond any of our abilities to track."

Billy's eyes narrowed. "How are _they_ doing?"

"You mean the Cullens?"

He nodded, slowly. "How do they seem to you? Any odd behaviour? Anything cagey?"

"They're vampires. Of course they're odd…" then it dawned on him what his father was implying. "You think they had something to do with Bella's disappearance," Jacob said bluntly. Not a question. "You think they're the reason she's missing."

Billy simply raised an eyebrow in response. And Jacob had to laugh.

"Far be it for me to defend the leeches but… you didn't see them when they got to that beech, you didn't see how distraught they were. You didn't see the sister shake as she called Edward… You didn't see what happened when _he_ arrived."

Jacob shivered. The memory alone was chilling enough. Those burning black eyes… it was like he was caught in the fires of Hell.

"What if they have changed her?" Billy prompted. "Have you thought of that? If one of them had bitten her the Pack would have been obligated to attack. What if this is all a ploy so that they can get away with it without reprimand?"

Taking time to think that through, Jake had to admit that the idea had crossed his mind. What if the leeches were behind all this? What if it was an elaborate ruse? But in his gut, Jake didn't feel like it was. Bella would never allow it; she wouldn't leave him and Charlie in that kind of pain. And then his mind kept returning to Edward, crouching in the sand, groaning…

"No." Jake shook his head. "I don't think so."

Billy's lips thinned as if he were about to disagree, but then Officer Mark came striding into the kitchen with a wad of papers in hand.

"Ah, Billy!" he said, "I need your help with the search grid. We haven't covered the area just South of Jefferson Cove and I was wondering if you know anyone that would be willing to go out there tomorrow…"

As Billy turned his chair, Mark followed him back into the living room.

"Some of the boys might be able to give it a look. I'll ask around."

While they re-immersed themselves in the maps and notes and whiteboards and crap that seemed to smother the house, Jake strode passed them and up the stairs. He was dog-tired, literally, and he needed a better sleep than a wolf-nap on the forest floor. What with Sam continuously barking orders through his head and all of the other's pack-chatter, it wasn't like he could really sleep.

When he reached her room, the door creaked a little as it opened. He didn't think she would mind, it wasn't like she was using it at the moment. And even if she was he knew she probably would have ushered him into the bed-quilts with a shove and a frown telling him to sleep while she took the couch. Or maybe he was delusional with tiredness. Either way, if he didn't sleep soon he would collapse.

"Oof!"

Falling face-first onto her plush lilac duvet seemed like the best idea in the world… until the strawberry scent of her shampoo whooshed up to engulf his senses. God, it smelt like she had just been here. The scent had barely faded.

Prickles suddenly poked at his eyes and they felt hot and dry. No! With a huff he sat up, rubbing his eyes manically. He was tired, but he couldn't cry. He could not succumb to tears.

Clutching handfuls of his sheared short hair, he gasped, drawing in deep steadying breaths until the prickles ceased. He had been growing it, he remembered, because Bella seemed to like it better that way. Edward had laughed at him when he'd read his mind.

The prickles returned. And he stood with a growl.

"No, dammit, no!" he ranted as he paced.

Where had the sleepy lethargy gone? He'd been exhausted a minute ago-

His eyes fell on her slightly-open bedside drawer. Had anyone even thought to go through it?

Probably not. There wasn't likely to be anything in there that would help find her. And this was probably a _major_ invasion of privacy. But Jake was in need of distractions right now.

Reaching out, he pulled the drawer open. Notebooks with only the odd scribble in, half-empty pens, bobbles, and a barrette all lay within… girly stuff. Funny how he'd never thought of Bella as much of a _girly-stuff_ girl. There was a few scrap notes too, with that sickeningly sweet scent attached. He pulled one out and read: _Be Safe_. Ugh! He didn't have to guess who had written that cursive script. Edward was even flouncy in his writing.

Then his hand fell on something else… a bracelet, with a wolf and a crystal heart attached. She still had it… he _had_ wondered…

Jake had to sit down hard and fast and this time, when the prickles started, he didn't bother to stop them. He blinked, hard, and the breaths that he pulled into his lungs quickly became ragged. There was something else, below it, something that struck him even harder.

A card – made of dried macaroni and glitter.

Wow, Jake had forgotten about that. But now he remembered. They had been kids. Bella had been seven, and Jake five. She had been staying with Charlie for an extended vacation and she had spent a lot of time with him and Rachel on the reservation while Billy and Charlie watched baseball. Jake had loved her even then, in his own childish way.

His hands shook when he picked it up. Glitter stuck to his fingers.

Charlie said it had been her first Valentine's Day card ever… and she had kept it all these years. A drop splashed onto the paper and only then did Jake realise that he was crying.

A lump had formed in his throat and it burned, and sniffing, he brushed the tears away.

"Don't be dead," he whispered to the darkness, "just, _please_… don't be dead."

Clutching the card close, he fell back onto her bed, and cried until he slept.

…

**Thanks again to everyone who fol/fav/reviewed! Nemma :)**


	8. Chapter 8 - All Fish Go To Heaven Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 8: Part 1 – All fish go to Heaven

I had been dreading and anticipating this day for weeks. Riana was taking me hunting today – outside. It was my first trip beyond the walls of the colony, and I didn't like it one bit. The space was wide and open and I had gotten used to the confines of Dakara. When I followed Riana up to the cavernous opening, I crept to the edge and peeked out like a baby rabbit checking the landscape for predators. Beyond lay a vast wasteland – no reefs, no coral-beds, no kelp forests, nothing but flat sand and murky water for as far as the eye could see.

"Come on, Bella," Riana urged as she flitted into the open, "we haven't got all day."

Six more mermaids appeared behind us and swam ahead – the numbers that would make up our hunting party. Today, we were collecting fish. As they passed by they barely acknowledged me, just clicked and whistled to themselves, eager to get on with the hunt.

I hurried to keep up as I saw their tails disappearing into the murk, but still I paused. It had been so long since I had been outside, almost a lifetime ago.

Riana was the only one to wait, and she hovered patiently as I carefully explored further. When I was far enough I turned.

Observing the colony from outside was somewhat… _demoralising_. I felt like a child that had been promised a trip to the Grand Canyon only to be presented with a ditch out-back. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but it was not this. It was just so drab, a flat grey expanse of sea-smoothed rock. It was even hard to tell where the entrance was, having just used it too.

Riana laughed delightedly, "You look so disappointed."

"Well, yeah."

"What were you expecting, the Taj-Mahal? Or the lost city of Atlantis?"

"I wouldn't go that far. It's just that I was expecting… well, _more_."

All I could see was a flat expanse of dull grey rock and a small hole in the ground. And yet it was huge within, gargantuan. Dakara was misleading.

As we flipped our tails and swam away, following our sisters, Riana clicked her tongue in mock disapproval.

"You newbies always do." She shook her head sadly. "It was designed with camouflage and concealment in mind. Remember, this place is _not_ supposed to be easy to find. We wouldn't want our enemies to come snooping around our doorstep."

That caught my attention.

"And who _are_ our enemies exactly?" I said, then added, "Don't tell me sharks, because this type of concealment wouldn't matter to them, it would be useless. Werewolves are land-based and wouldn't swim this far out, even to find us, _if_ they know we exist." And I was pretty certain Jake would have told me about mermaids if he knew. "Vampires…" Now there was a thought. "Are we enemies with vampires?"

Riana considered that. "We may not always get along with them, but we aren't enemies – at least with the ones we know, which are few and far between – we like them too much," she laughed, and added a little slyly, "must be all their delicious glittery goodness."

"Who then…?" _What other supernatural creatures could there be?_

"Humans for one," she said, surprising me. "Their technology is pretty advanced now and we like to deter the construction of any large monuments that would draw undue attention from, say, satellites, or ultrasound from passing vessels." She shrugged, and the tenor of her thoughts grew bored. "I don't know, I'm not a science geek but I'm sure one of our sisters could explain it right."

"Just humans then…?" I prompted, realising she didn't just mean them. In her mind lay hesitation.

"No," she said slowly, considering, "sometimes we don't get on so well with other colonies. As with any species, we can bicker – to put it lightly."

"Why? What would we fight about?"

The cool water smoothed our skins and while I waited for her to answer I focussed of the sensation of it caressing each and every scale. It was gentle, like an affectionate stroke.

"I don't know," she said, "What do humans fight about?" Raising a hand, she ticked off one reason after another using each finger. "Territory disputes, hunting rights, the grander issues of morality and theology." She threw up her hands, "Whatever you like."

"Are we fighting with any other colony right now?"

_Should we be watching our backs out here?_

"Don't think so," she shrugged, swimming on with a carefree grace. "There's not been any action in that sense since I joined… but then again I've not seen any mermaids from other colonies since I arrived. I don't know of any of our younger sisters who have either, and the older ones don't talk about it. I did hear one little titbit of gossip though, apparently there's another colony somewhere between the Philippines and the Solomon sea, east of Papua New Guinea. It's the closest one to us, I think. Their leader took issue with some of Mara's… _edicts_… I think that was the word, and refused to deal with her or her colony until she changed her ways. Don't know what those _edicts_ were though, could be any number of things."

She paused then and muttered, almost to herself, "but I'd bet our diet could be to do with it. Some would disapprove." Before I could ask about that she carried on, "I suppose you could add vamps to our list of potential enemies now, seeing as _yours_ are looking for you and wouldn't be too happy to find out we have you."

_The Cullens, Edward! …When had I last thought of them?_

"Have you seen them?" I asked. "Are they nearby?"

_Would they even think of looking in the ocean for me?_

"I've seen nothing," Riana chirped. "Sorry if it sounded like I had, I didn't mean to get your hopes up." She paused then, as if assessing my mood. I felt calm enough, placid even. Slowly she added, "We are quite far from the Washington coast, you know, at least one-thousand-five-hundred miles out into the Pacific. It's not surprising that they haven't looked this far out for you. Mermaids are also lightning-fast in the water; we can outswim a vampire below the surf, even if we can't out-manoeuvre them above. Point is, if they did see one of us and tried to follow her back to the colony, they'd have no hope of tracking her in the water. Sorry chick."

With that she flitted away.

…

About half an hour into our swim, there was a high-pitched whistle from one of the sisters ahead. I started, surprised, but beside me Riana just smiled.

_Fish_, she thought.

By the time we'd reached the rest, they were already corralling the small shoal into a tight knot of flashing silver. They darted around them in a pack, whistling and clicking the way I had seen dolphins do on nature programmes. Their thoughts were not human; they were too sharp and focussed, with a hunter's acuity – marine predators.

With a swift flick of her emerald tail, Riana swept forward to join in the hunt. As she did she pulled a sharp blade from the seaweed belt buckled about her waist.

"Herring, yum," Riana said, "I've had a craving for this. C'mon, Bella," she urged.

I followed.

The whistles continued, causing the fish to dart with fright. I joined them, mimicking the high-pitch tone, and I allowed my mind to be swept along with them as we worked in tandem to corner the little fish. At times like this, it felt like we were more fish than human.

Although I had been given no knife of my own, I worked at the edges with another blond-haired girl. She was tiny, but her focused was as sharpness as the others. We kept the fish together as our sisters darted forward to grab at the strays and stash them in little pouches made of woven kelp on their backs.

As I watched, my stomach started to rumble, hunger making an appearance. I was so focussed, so intent on doing this right and helping my sisters, that at first I did not notice the dark shadow overhead.

A screech went out – sharper than the hunter's trill – and something huge tore past.

Water whirled in a whirlpool that sent me spinning and before I could so much as form a question I heard the answer shriek in several minds.

_Shark! Shark! Shark!_

The fishes scattered, the mermaids took flight, and in panic I darted into the murk too, following an erratic golden tail. I didn't know whose; her thoughts were too chaotic to tell.

A cry went out, and I twisted to see a blond mermaid – the smallest of our group that I had been working with – mere inches away from the beast's snapping jaws. It twisted and bit, baring its razor-teeth as she struggled to flee. The girl was little more than a child.

Riana was closest but she froze stiff, gaping in horror.

I didn't think – I rarely ever did – I acted on instinct alone.

Sweeping forward to snatch the silver knife from Riana's grip, I propelled myself into the dark monster's side. Wham! I hit with much more force than I thought possible and as I reeled, a little dazed, I blinked and saw the shark had been knocked aside as well.

"Go," I screeched at the little one.

With wide-eyes and shaking lips, she flitted past me and away into the gloom, tracking our sisters. The sea was growing darker by the second as night took hold swiftly, and in the far distance I could only see the reflective green sheen of my sister's eyes. I took off after the child too, as quickly as I could, pushing my powerful tail. But I was not quick enough.

A force like a freight-train ploughed into my side and I gasped, knocked senseless as a ripping agony tore through my thigh. Scarlet bloomed in a cloying mist around me and I only had the vague notion that something huge and dark had latched onto my side.

"Bella!" Riana's voice echoed through the gloom. But my mind was blank, barely comprehending as the shredding agony spread through my limbs. There was so much pain!

"The knife," she screamed, "use the freaking knife!"

_The knife_… I looked to my hand and, yes, somehow I still held the thin silver blade.

It didn't feel like my arm that moved. It didn't feel like my hand that plunged the knife towards the beast's pitiless black eye. It all felt too surreal for that and I felt too distant, like I was a part from my own body, detached.

The blade pierced that jet black orb, sinking up to the hilt.

Something released.

And then I was floating, drifting down… and down… and down…

Disappearing into the black…

_No Bella, hold on_, a panicked voice called, beautiful in its terror.

I smiled. That voice was not Riana's or any of the sister's. It was a voice that was much more welcome and so much sweeter, like molten honey; one that I had not heard in so, so long.

_Edward_, I sighed, both an exultation and a prayer.

It was no surprise to hear him now, when I was so close to the brink. I had heard him before at times like this, and I was glad that I could hear him now – this final time.

_Fight_, his growl commanded, sensing my lethargy, _don't give up_.

But the darkness was too close now; encroaching on my senses as the red seeped away, draining away my strength. It would be so easy to give into that oblivion, like drifting off to sleep. As I gave myself up to it a pair of ice-cold arms encircled my torso, and started to lift.

_Edward?_ I queried, but there was no response, only darkness.

…


	9. Chapter 9 - All Fish Go To Heaven Pt 2

**Early update! **

**Thank you so much for your support! I've gotten some really nice reviews since last chapter. And while I try to reply to everyone personally, I cannot do so for the 'Guest' reviewers – so I'll just take this opportunity to express my thanks with a mini mid-week update. It's short, I know, but I promise to get a bigger chapter to you this weekend. Hope you enjoy it, Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 9: Part 2 – All fish go to Heaven

Around me, voices carried like whispers on the wind – timid and hushed. I became vaguely aware of my surroundings, of faces beyond count that stared, wide-eyed, as they passed.

"Clear the way," a girl's voice said, "she's badly injured."

They parted like mice before the light. Few spoke words, mostly it was nonsensical clicking, but their thoughts were clear enough.

_The blood!_

_What happened?_

_Shark attack…_

_Bella…?_

_She saved Kali…_

_But she's so new, how?_

_Can you hear me? Focus Bella…_

Everything went black. And the last thing I felt were the stone-cold arms that held me.

…

"Do you remember the first time I ever brought you here, love?" Edward asked as I reclined in the meadow's grass, stretching full-length as I indulged in the sun's light. It was one of those rare warm times in Washington State where neither rain nor wind ruined the day, and together we lounged in the heat. The sun prickled my skin, and sparkled on his.

"Yes," I smiled. "How could I not? It was the first time I saw you in direct sunlight."

Turning to him, I watched as the diamond-fragments of his skin glittered. He was so beautiful and he just didn't know it.

"And the time after that?" he queried.

I smiled. "Yes."

"And the time after that?" he persisted.

"Of course," I frowned a little, wondering what he was getting at.

"What about the time after the newborn battle, when you decided the wedding date? I'd have given you everything that day – my heart, my soul-" he traced my lips with his finger, reminding me of exactly what he meant, "-if you'd have let me."

This time I sat up, giving him my full attention. Reaching up, I stroked his marble cheek and felt the stone-cold flesh quiver. My hand trailed up to his bronze hair and ran through the strands. He leant into my touch and I smiled as he did. I loved this man so much.

"Of course," I said. That was a treasured memory. He should know that. "I remember every time, every single moment."

His face was sad, his eyes pools of misery. "Then why aren't you coming back to me?"

…

"Bella, Bella can you hear me?"

"Edward?" I gasped. The arms that held me were stone and cold. We were still moving, but all I felt was darkness and pain.

"She's bad; a lot of blood has been lost." The voice was lilting and musical and… strained. "We need to halt the haemorrhaging. Make a tourniquet with your belt."

"Edward?" I gasped again. Then I felt it.

Agony! My legs were in agony! My tail! I cried out, but what came from my throat was a piercing, ragged screech. Hands held me; more people carrying me, swimming swiftly through the water. The pull of the sea dragged and pulled and _hurt_, exacerbating the pain.

"Hold on," a girl said – _Riana?_ "We've got you. Lilith, bind that. Where's Mara?"

"I don't know," another voice said. I wasn't sure whose.

"Well, can someone at least find Kiera? We need a senior hand here."

Someone was crying, it sounded like a child. The pain was too much, too intense, I writhed in its grip. This was torture. The blackness returned and engulfed me again.

…


	10. Chapter 10 - All Fish Go To Heaven Pt 3

**You guys are awesome! I've gotten some really lovely messages and I appreciate each and every one of them – and the fols and favs too! Here's another BPOV. ****Enjoy, Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 10: Part 3 – All fish go to Heaven - BPOV 

Waking up was like being immersed in a tub of ice-water – startling and instantaneous. I jolted up, gasping. Everything was so much sharper than it had been in weeks. Memories, thought – they possessed a crystalline clarity that I hadn't realised they had been lacking until now. It was like I had woken from a vivid dream and I now felt everything, _everything_, with excruciating keenness.

_Edward, oh God, how could I have forgotten to go back? How had I not left this place when I had the chance?_

It almost felt like I was withdrawing from the effects of some drug, like my system was doped but now it was shaking off the effects. Mara – she had done this to me, she had dulled my emotions… she had made me forget to care. _Oh Edward_…

And now I was angry, and scared.

How dare she. What gave her the right? When I found her I was going to-

"Hey," a voice said, "welcome back to the sea of the living. We thought we might have lost you there for a time."

Looking up, I released I was back in the colony – lying on woven kelp-bed in one of the many caves that made up the place – and I was not alone. Riana hovered in the doorway, her mass of vivid red hair floating about her head. And she looked, for once, contrite.

"We thought that you weren't going to make it at one point. It's been touch-and-go for three days. Glad to see you pulled through though. I've gotten to like you, Bella."

"What happened?" I asked.

Though I did remember bits, I was sketchy on the details. And I needed time to collect my thoughts – I was still reeling over my dream of Edward.

"_Why aren't you coming back to me…?"_

"You tackled a shark," she laughed, "that's what happened; a Great White too, must have been 12-foot long! …You saved one of our smallest sisters." Her attitude grew grave. "That was no small feat. The whole colony is buzzing about it – Bella the Shark-killer… How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shoved through a meat-grinder," I grumbled. My tail _ached_.

Looking down, all I could see was swathes of thick, waxy, greenish-black weeds cocooning my lower half. I probably didn't want to see the mess that lay beneath…

"Uh-huh, well those things have pretty nasty teeth." Riana paused, eyeing me closely, "I really am happy you're okay. Mara told me to go fetch her when you woke up. She wants to talk to you. I can stall if you want some time-"

"-No," I said, perhaps more sharply than I should have, "I want to talk to her too."

"Okay," she said, but at the cave entrance she paused. "It was a vampire that saved you. Did you realise?"

My thumping heart seemed to still. When I looked up, her face was carefully blank.

"He heard our shouts a mile away," she continued, "he was roaming nearby and he came flying out of the dark while I was still frozen in place…"

"What vampire?"

"Our resident, Randall…" Her face was a strange mix; both confused and sad.

Oh, so it was _his_ cold arms I had felt wrap around me. A part of me was miserably disappointed. For a moment I had thought…

"You called him Edward, you know," she said, "when he caught you sinking after the shark let go."

"It must have been because of his voice. I heard him speaking, but…" I frowned, rubbing my head, still hazy as the memory of cold arms took hold, "we were in the water…"

"He had not long dived, he still had breath to spare," she said. "Randall was travelling back to the Colony from the surface."

"I should thank him," I said, though my voice lacked enthusiasm.

"You should, when you're able," she nodded. "It was a hard thing for him to carry back here, bleeding as you were. Our blood may not be the same as humans' but we still have beating hearts, and, well, blood is blood." She paused, before adding, "You called out for him in your sleep too…" she trailed away, frowning a little, "You called out for Edward."

I could only sigh. "Is that so unusual, to call out for someone I love?"

"For one of us, it is." She seemed to be on the verge of saying something else, her mouth opened… and closed. "Shall I fetch Mara now?"

"Please."

With a slow nod, she flitted out of the cave and vanished, leaving me alone. My thoughts were a bubbling mire of molten lava, frothing, boiling. I was furious.

I planned to have it out with Mara. To tell her I would be gone soon. I was going home-

"Um, excuse me," a little voice said.

Looking up, I saw a small figure hovering in the doorway. It was the little blonde girl, the one I had snatched away from the shark – before it had chomped onto my tail instead.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

At once my anger was doused.

"Err, sure." I shuffled a little, straightening as she edged closer.

"How are you feeling?" She spoke strangely, with the lisp of a very young child – her r's and l's became w's.

"I'm fine," I answered, automatically – reminded instantly of how much Edward hated that word, 'fine'. I flinched, but pushed the pain aside. "How are _you_?"

"I'm okay," she nodded.

I didn't know where to go from here… we just stared at each other. I didn't even know her name.

"I wanted to thank you," she eventually said, her cherub-face dimpling. "That was very brave what you did. You saved me."

"Err, thanks. I did what anyone else would have done, I guess."

She shook her head. "None of our sisters tried, only you."

Now I felt uncomfortable. "I'm sure that they would have, given more time. It all happened very quickly, didn't it? And I was closest."

She shuffled, swishing her sapphire-blue tail and picking at her nails. "I guess."

I didn't want to be mean to the girl, but I didn't want her company either. After the return of my senses, I just wanted to be left alone, to wallow in self-pity with only my anger for comfort, to think and to plan… to work out how I was going to get home.

Perhaps she could even hear me wishing for that – if she was listening.

"What's your name, little one?" I asked to derail my thoughts. If she heard them she might tell someone, and I didn't need that.

She straightened proudly. "Kalianna, but our sisters call me Kali. You're Bella."

"Yes," I said, even though it was not a question.

"You're the vampire's girl, aren't you?"

"I… err…"

"I know all about vampires," she nodded eagerly, and swimming closer she crouched by my bed-side. "I've heard that they're scary and strong and fast, very fast, but not as fast as we are. No one beats us in the water, but that's because of our tails. They drink blood too. Have you ever drunk blood? Before you came here, I mean? If you lived with vampires-"

Once she began to talk, she spoke endlessly. It was like a floodgate opened and words spilled out. I couldn't respond fast enough and in the end I just let the words flow unimpeded. For being very shy to begin with, she now chattered like a little bird, not at all troubled by my lack of response.

"Do they burn in the daylight? Lilith says they do but I've never seen one so I don't know. Can vampires burn underwater? Is that possible? Do you think they are looking for you? They probably are. My parents looked for me for _months_. They never found me though. No one ever gets found. Mara is very clever; she hid this place so outsiders can't find us. She protects us here. Mara's very particular about who she selects, she only takes girls who've had a hard time on land – the ones that men hurt. And that's why-"

"-Excuse me? What was that?"

"Err…" Kali hesitated, "Mara only takes girls that men hurt?"

"I did hear you right," I frowned, "but no one hurt me."

"Someone must have," the girl nodded, enthused, "Mara can sense these things."

_Mara can sense squat_, I thought, anger brimming, but I said nothing. So far Kali had been an unexpected fountain of knowledge; she was giving me a lot to think about.

And I needed to learn more.

"How long have you been here, Kali?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm not sure," she frowned, her eyes drifting in thought as she pinched her bottom lip between two small fingers. "Fifty years, maybe," she shrugged. "We don't really follow human time down here – days and nights blur together."

Struggling to comprehend that, I asked dumbly, "How old are you?"

"I have been nine and two-thirds since Mara found me."

Frozen as a child… My mind drifted until a thought struck, completely blind-siding me with its implications.

"Wait." I held up my hands. "Are you saying that we don't age? That we stay in the exact same state as when we are Turned?"

"More or less." She fiddled with a piece of weed now, twirling it between her fingers.

"That must be, err, hard," I said, in an attempt to empathise with her predicament.

"I don't really think about it." Her expression said as much. She was genuinely baffled.

_They… _we_… did not age. _

Ha! I'd finally attained immortality and I hadn't even realised it. This was what I had wanted for months! But the understanding was bittersweet, because it came with the realisation that this was _not_ what I wanted. There had been two other very specific pre-requisites for attaining immortality: 1.) that I gain it by becoming a vampire, and 2.), the more important, that I gain it for the purpose of being with Edward forever. At the moment, I was not a vampire and I was not with Edward. I was a mermaid.

This had not been in the plan.

So far I'd only succeeded in the immortality part, and I hadn't even gotten that right! I sighed. Only _I_ could mess up immortality so thoroughly.

Well, the one positive note was that I wasn't aging. That meant that I had an eternity to rectify the situation, although… I really hoped it wouldn't take quite that long.

I wanted to find Edward, soon. And then there was Charlie to think of, and my mom.

"Kali," I said, the faint outline of a plan forming, "can you do something for me?"

"Sure," she chirped, "anything."

"Can you tell me all there is to know about our kind?"

She opened her mouth, about to answer, when another voice interrupted her.

"Bella, our exulted leader would like a word with you now."

_I would like a word with her too! _

Riana had returned and she hovered in the doorway with an anxious frown. For a moment I wondered how much of our conversation – and my thoughts – she had overheard.

"Come along, Kali." She held out her had to the child. "Let's leave them now."

The child swam forward and the two vanished into the hall, leaving only a dark figure, hovering in the shadows of the cave entrance – Mara.

I hadn't seen her this close since the day I'd woken in the colony. And in that time I had forgotten just how frightening she appeared. Her green eyes glowed ethereally in the gloom, her flowing mane of jet-black hair loomed about her in a slow wave, and at the corners of her lips were the tell-tale indents of little fangs. I remembered those – I remembered how they _pierced_.

"How is our newest recruit doing?" she said, her voice low and dark, "I hear you had a run-in with a Great White."

I gulped, unintentionally. "That's what they tell me."

_Where was my anger? Why had it abandoned me now?_

"That was a brave thing you did," she continued, "you rescued one of my most treasured children. Kaliana should not have ventured out with the hunting group. She has been told continually that she is too small, too vulnerable, but, as she always does, she slips the net. It was very fortunate you were there to aid her, and for that you have my thanks."

"Okay," I said, lost for words.

Was that all? Apparently, because after that she inclined her neck in an elegant nod and turned to leave.

"Mara?" I called on a whim, and the frightening woman stilled.

"Hmmm?" she said.

"I want to ask you something…" I hesitated, my courage faulting.

Why was I so scared? What else could she possibly do to me? She had already ripped me away from Edward, from my entire life.

"Please speak, dear," she drifted back, watching me closely, "you can talk to me."

My anger faulted a little more. She was nice and polite, but the far dark of her eyes held a bleakness that chilled me to the bone. That motherly countenance was a false front.

Breathing deeply, I spoke. "I heard some of the other mermaids talking…" I thought it best not to name Kali directly. "…and I heard something strange, about you."

"Strange? …About me?" She laughed delightedly. "I'm sure that there are many strange tales floating around about me. Which one in particular caught your interest?"

"They said that you can sense when a girl has been hurt? …By a man… that this is how you find and select girls to join the… err… Colony?"

Her face grew still.

"That is correct."

I released a breath. "Then why did you take _me_?"

She blinked. "Am I to be under the impression that no man has ever hurt you?"

Before I could answer with a definitive '_No_' she continued on.

"Think very carefully before you deny it, Bella. It's written across your heart, the scars are plain to see. Your heart has been broken; shattered would be a more apt term – and more than once. Love has been hard on you, as it has been for many of us."

"B-but," I floundered, "I was okay, my heart had healed. I was happy. I was engaged!"

_Was,_ a far part of my mind noted. Had I already turned to a past tense?

Without compunction, my eyes drifted down to where my diamond ring lay, on the third finger of my left hand. It sparkled demurely in the dim light.

"But you weren't entirely happy, were you?" Mara stated, her dark eyes flashing. "When I took you I could sense it; there is a split in your heart, not as powerful as the first break but it still aches. You felt it keenly before. I bet you could put a name to that ache."

_Jake… _

I struggled with her logic, breathing hard. "Then, if you sense these cracks and aches so acutely, you should be able to tell that my heart is aching right _now_. When you took me, you took me away from the people I love. I'm pining Mara, I want them back!"

Absurdly, I felt like a spoilt child, stamping my feet and demanding attention.

"Bella Cullen."

She said it the way she had the first time I had given her the name, as if she were testing it for quality… or for truth.

"It was not your first choice when I asked for your name," she stated, "and yet it is the name you have chosen. I don't ask for your reasons, everyone has the right to be who she wishes to be – name, identity and all. You are Bella Cullen and I am Mara. That is who we are and who we aspire to be. It is not the people around us who define us, it is ourselves."

_And what did that have to do with anything? What was she talking about?_

"Think about it," she said.

I still did not understand. She sighed, drifting closer – and her proximity caused a shiver to run along my spine.

"That was not the first time I saw you," Mara said, "the day I took you from the beach. I saw you once before, you leapt from a cliff. Your heart was fractured then too. I could sense your pain from a mile away. I nearly took you then, the sea would have claimed you if I had not, but the wolf-shifter intercepted me. I watched from the deep as he towed you ashore."

Her black eyes grew distant, staring beyond our thick, stone walls.

"I promised myself that day that I would look out for you again, for if you'd been drawn there once before I had no doubt you would be again. And you were."

That made me sound like I was looking for death. And that just wasn't right!

Rallying my thoughts, I said, "But not for the same purpose, I… I was just cliff-diving that first time, and after that… I was driving along the road-side. I only stopped because I thought you were hurt. I was trying to help you!"

But she didn't even seem to be listening.

"When I bit you, when I imbued you with my venom that day on the beach, I changed you in ways you can't begin to imagine. Ways you have not yet learnt to comprehend. You will come to know this in time, when your fangs fully grow and the cravings start. You are no longer a Land-walker, you are a Daughter of the Sea now, and you must learn to accept this."

Anger boiled up within, and just as I was about to protest I felt a sharp yank in my mind. Memories of Edward and Jake and Charlie collided together in a hectic froth of colour that swirled like a maelstrom, making the images distort and blur. I gasped, flinching back.

"What was that?!" I barked.

She looked on stoically as I thought about the tug. That felt like she was trying to siphon off my thoughts… A cold sensation trickled down my spine; the implication hardened, her threat decisive and clear. _Abandon the memories, or they will be taken from you_.

Dread flooded me, ice-cold and sickening. No, she couldn't, she wouldn't… That was too cruel! But even as I thought it, I knew that she would, without a second thought.

"You're wound is much better," she commented lightly, "soon you will be well enough to return to the main colony and your sisters, where you belong."

Mara's face gave nothing away. And silently she moved to the door.

_I don't want this. I want to be myself again. I want to be human_. _I want Edward!_

Against my will my voice turned desperately pleading, "I want my family back."

She only stared at me, and her eyes were flat and pitiless.

"We are your family now," she said.

…


	11. Chapter 11 - Treasure Trove

**Thank you for the lovely reviews, people! They've kept me inspired. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter, Nemma. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 11: Treasure Trove – BPOV

For the past week I had been lying, wallowing and recovering, in the Colony's infirmary, ever since that damned shark bit me. But I was wallowing over more than that. I was wallowing over my collision – that seemed to be the right word – with Mara.

To be fair, I was not even sure what I had been asking of her. Had I been asking her to turn me back into a human? Or to return me to the surface? It wasn't like vampires could turn back, or Rosalie would have found a way a long time ago. Werewolves didn't have a choice either, although they could stop phasing, given time. But still, they would always be wolves.

Becoming supernatural was not a lifestyle choice that could be changed on a whim.

I should have known better.

And although she had hardly asked my permission, and although we had not had a lengthy heart-to-heart about my preference for humanity (and eventually vampirism), Mara had had the best intentions when she had taken me, as far as I could tell. She had sensed – rightly – that I had experienced some serious hurt on the surface, from more than one source. She had intended to take me, care for me, and grant me a new life and a family to protect and be protected by. In a way, a very begrudging way, I did admire that. Even if in her version I was like a helpless, down-trodden, hard-done-to stray that she'd picked up on her travels.

Huh, I didn't like that image. I never liked to appear weak.

"Hey, Shark-bait," Riana called as she flitted into the cave, her red hair streaking past as she swam, "good news, you're officially being released today – back into the _wild_."

"Oh goodie," I sighed, not the least bit enthused.

"Oh, c'mon," she drawled, "you're not still moping about that big-ass scar you got, are you?"

Glancing down at my un-bandaged tail, I took in the large crescent-mark that began at my left hip-bone and wound its way in a huge arc to just above my knee. Around it, scales still flaked away, discoloured and dead and stained red. But it was healed, for the most part.

I knew I should be grateful that it was not worse, and I was! But still… it looked ugly. And I couldn't help but grimace.

"War wound," Riana nodded patriotically, "you should wear it with pride!"

"Sure," I said, having no other comment, and rising I twisted and flicked my tail – it still pained me a little, but nothing like it had. It was bearable. "C'mon, get me out of here."

As we swished our way down the eerily green tunnels I thought about Randall, the vampire that had carried me home. I wanted to meet him, to thank and assess him.

_Perhaps he knows of the Cullens, perhaps he would be willing to play messenger_.

As we swam we passed a few of our sisters that acknowledged me with more than the usual nod. There were smiles and claps on my back, appreciative clicks and even a cheer.

"Whoop," Tara laughed as she swam by.

Confused, I glanced into their thoughts and they were all the same – they _admired_ me. They admired the way I had tackled that shark. I… no one had ever regarded me with such interest before, except Edward. And I found that I was not entirely comfortable with it. Never having been one for the spotlight I disliked the attention, but more than that, I realised that I would now have to take more care with my thoughts…

"Oh," Riana suddenly gasped and I followed her gaze, "have you seen these yet?"

On the wall ahead, illuminated by an arc of pink anemone-lights, was a succession of bleached-white jaws – shark jaws. Be-toothed and gleaming and white!

"Our trophy wall," Riana smiled, and in the gloom her teeth shone – fangs and all.

"That reminds me. Here," she said, and turning, she rifled through the patched kelp satchel that she always had fastened about her waist. "All mermaids keep a token of their first hunt. Well, of their first _big kill_. We hardly count tuna as big."

From within she pulled out a long leathery cord with a single white pendant in its dip.

_Was that a shark tooth?_ The thought was clear enough and Riana nodded.

"Think of it as a memento," she said, and lifting my hair she fastened the thing around my neck, "to remember just how kick-ass you can be."

When it lay demurely over my collar-bones, in the little crevice between my breasts, she swam back and looked me over with an approving nod.

"All hail Bella, the Shark-killer," she added wryly, patting my shoulder.

"So, wait, is this actually from the shark, _the_ shark, the one that bit me?"

"Yeah," Riana chirped, "you stabbed it in the eye remember? Drove the knife pretty deep… It died quickly. And while me and Kali and a few of the others swam with you and Randall back to the Colony, hoping that you wouldn't bleed out before we got there, two of our sisters stayed behind to… sort out the carcass. We'll have Great White steaks for dinner, FYI. A fish that size will likely feed half the Colony!"

As she spoke I looked at the tooth. A sudden splurge of… I don't know… _acceptance?_ …took me by surprise. It didn't come from just Riana, but from those passing, and those in the adjacent tunnels that I couldn't see with my eyes, and those that were out hunting or scouting or swimming in the sea beyond our caves. It was universal acceptance from all of my sisters. Riana smiled, feeling it too.

"You'd think that I'd feel odd having only the pendant to wear," I said blithely as I turned it back and forth, watching it gleam in the odd pink light, "but somehow I always seem to forget that I'm no longer wearing clothes."

"Mermaids," Riana shook her head, "we have no shame."

"I guess the fact that scales cover all of the important parts helps too."

"Yeah, but then mermaids just don't feel embarrassment like humans do." As we began to swim again she really seemed to contemplate that. "Or maybe," she added, a little evilly, "If we were allowed to bring some boys down here once in a while we might just blush."

Thoughts of Edward seeing me this way, essentially unclothed, suddenly made my skin darken to cerise. I pushed them aside. "Thank you for this, Riana. I don't know what to-"

A loud screech of noise cut me short, butchered and blood-curdling.

"My God," I gasped, "What on Earth was that?!"

Riana stretched forward, looking around the corner towards the dome and trying to see over the masses gathered there. "Looks like someone's brought home dinner," she smiled.

My mind was confused, but that sounded like…

"There's only one," Riana moaned, grimacing, "that's not enough for all of us. We'll have to settle for muscles and shark tonight. And I've been starting to crave man-flesh."

"What?" I gasped, not daring to approach her corner, "Wait… was that _a person_?"

"Err, yeah," Riana said absently, eyes trained ahead.

And so the good feeling faded, along with the universal hippy-love. It was like being in the underground vaults of the Volturi capital all over again, with screams echoing so clearly not twenty metres away. In the water the sound was muffled and garbled, but no less terrified.

_If vampires are the blood-drinkers of the land…_, Lilith had said.

"Now and again we bring one in," Riana continued, unnerved. "Human blood is a lot better than anything you'll catch in the sea, wait until you try it, it's _phenomenal_."

I gulped, sickened. "You drink _human blood?_"

She seemed to sense my nausea then, and turned to me with a hard frown. "Oh, don't give me that, Vampire Girl. It's who we _are_." The frown dispersed and she laughed a little, "You look queasy, positively green. I'm thinking of a very good sea-sick joke but you're probably not going to appreciate it right now."

"I won't drink human blood."

Riana sighed with great exasperation. "There's always one," she said, seemingly to herself, and added sternly, "Look, blood is like one of our five-a-day. Doctor recommended. Although we don't indulge quite that often, we need – hear that part, _need_ – to drink it, once maybe twice a month. Or our systems pack in and that's it, we go caput. Ugh! It's really not bad. It's fantastic actually, like chocolate on steroids… and the flesh." She actually shivered.

_So it's not just the blood. _In her thoughts I could see images of flanks and bones.

"Hannibal," I muttered, not really joking.

She laughed anyway. Her melodious voice carried such sweet chimes that it felt wrong, displaced, considering the carnage we were discussing – the carnage she was _revelling_ in.

"If I'm Hannibal then that would easily make you Clarice now wouldn't it, for now. I'm sure I'll be calling you Hannibal too soon enough."

I felt sick. I felt _very_ sick.

"Hey, look, don't worry about it now." She had said that before. "The craving won't hit for a while, you'll know when it does, and when the time comes me or someone else will help you out. It gets easier after the first time. And anyway, we have _some_ ethics; Mara only likes us to target male prey – usually harmful males – it's her thing."

I really didn't want to be having this conversation. And in her thoughts I could hear that she had already become tired of it. Her mind had turned to pleasanter things.

"On a brighter note," she grinned, "we have a shopping trip scheduled for today."

"What?"

By that time we had reached the dome, and in its centre another group had gathered. Within their psyche I felt a sense of anticipation; they were awaiting something – _a shopping trip?_ Impossible images of us trailing into a Mall off the Californian coast filled my mind.

Riana snorted, "Nothing like that… but still, that'd be cool. Our shopping sprees are a little different though." Before I could ask for details she pointed to a classically beautiful mermaid with waving blond hair who hovered at the crowd's centre. "Kiera is our designated supervisor today. Mara doesn't trust us on our own; she thinks we'll cause trouble."

"Will we?" I asked as we joined the others.

Two of them acknowledged Riana and I with greeting 'clicks'.

Riana shrugged. "It's always a possibility. Us girls like our fun."

When a gathering of about twenty had been compiled, the one named Kiera held up her hand. _Enough_, her thoughts told us. She would take no more. A few stragglers sighed and flitted back into the tunnels and then we were on our way, swimming up into the light above.

The ocean outside was clearer today, not so murky or dark, and with our keen vision we could see that much further.

"Does anyone see any sharks?" little Kali asked, nervously.

"None today," Kiera assured her, "Our numbers scare them away. You will be safe, as long as you remain _with the group_," she added pointedly, and the child nodded nervously.

"Ha," Riana barked a laugh, "I wouldn't worry on any account. We have Bella with us. You all know well how she likes to dance with sharks."

Before I could stutter or blush, Riana joined Lilith and a third girl with dark mahogany hair that I could not name. There was a tangible thrum of excitement among them now, as if at a long awaited event, even as I noticed it. A couple of mermaids nearby clicked eagerly, stirring the waters with excitement. But their thoughts churned so chaotically that I still could not gain any idea of where we were going or what precisely we were planning to do.

"I feel the need…" Lilith trailed off, looking at her two companions significantly, "the need, for speed," the three chorused gleefully, projecting themselves at rocket-speed into the far-gloom. They left only a triplet trail of white bubbles in their wake – a direct line to follow.

Their departure triggered the others like a chain-reaction, and soon there were white streaks trailing from all directions, shooting into the south like asteroids. The trails reminded me of the fluffy white paths that aeroplanes left in the sky.

"Zoooooooom," Kali squealed as she threw herself after them.

A happy laugh issued behind me and I spun to see Kiera, our supervising elder, smiling like an indulgent mother observing her child.

"Come," she said, and with an encouraging smile she grasped my wrist, "we'd best hurry or we'll lose them all."

Soon we'd joined the slipstream with the rest of our kin, riding the currents like jets.

…

_That boat is very far out_, I thought as I eyed the rusty tub bobbing on the waves. Paint flaked off its hull and half-tangled nets hung from its side. Lobster traps cluttered the deck and, on the whole, it hardly seemed sea-worthy. _Was this what they were getting all excited about?_

"Is this it?" I started to ask, but the words, spoken above water, became only a hiss and click. One massive perk of the mermaid change: we could not speak proper English above water – the changes to our voice-box and the gills did not allow coherent speech with air.

Beside me, Riana clicked a 'yes' in Mermish. I understood her perfectly, but no human would.

_It doesn't look much_, I thought. But Riana was beyond listening to me now. She, along with twenty other sets of eyes, trained ahead as Kiera swam gracefully to the vessel's side.

"Hail," she cried. Her voice was a shrill bark.

On board there was a scuffle, a thud; the sound of feet tangling, tripping and then righting themselves, and then, from the deck's sole cabin, a ragged-looking man emerged.

"Oh, hello ladies," he called with a jovial smile, "come, come, I have much for you to see today." He gestured for us to come closer and I saw the eager glints in the other's eyes.

A shadow of grey and black stubble adorned the man's jaw and his skin was tanned and weather-worn, as if he'd spent a great deal of his life out-doors. He wore the classic dungarees of a fisherman, and a woollen cap with feathered hooks covered his short salt-and-pepper hair. _He must be about Charlie's age_, I thought with a vague pang. And perhaps that was the part that struck me hardest, for it pin-pointed his most blaring aspect.

He was a human.

_If vampires are the blood-drinkers of the land_, Lilith had said, _then we are the blood-drinkers of the sea_. Suddenly I felt queasy. What exactly had they meant by a shopping trip?

"Riana…" I said, my worry rising, "We're not going to, err… _eat him_, are we?"

If her answer was 'yes' I was bolting in the next second.

"What, Gio?" she laughed, her brow crumpling, "Lord, no. Giovanni is our…" she hesitated, circling her wrist in the air as she thought, "Well, he's kind of like a _supplier_."

I glanced back at him. Riana and I stayed at a distance but our sisters ventured closer and he welcomed them all with smiles and cheerful greetings.

"…and he…" I trailed off suggestively

"Knows what we are?" Riana finished my unspoken question and scoffed. "Well, you'd have to be blind not to notice, and he's no blind-man. The voices are a dead give-away to our lack of humanity, _if_ he somehow failed to notice the scaly tails. Giovanni is a descendant of the _Cocopo_ tribe, a people who used to live along the South-West coast a few hundred years ago. They had a strong association with mermaids and what's left of the people know a lot about mermaid lore. They are 'believers'," she said, in the same way people say: '_the truth is out there_'. "And Giovanni here lost his daughter to the sea several years back. He hoped we'd taken her in but I've never seen her. He likes to ask all of the new faces about her, so be prepared for the photo albums."

That was a lot of information to process at once, Riana really did like to lay all the details out, but one question in particular popped to the front of my mind.

"You said he likes to _ask_. Does that mean he speaks like us?" _Does he 'click'?_

She looked at me as if I was a complete and total idiot.

"No," she scoffed, "no human can speak our language."

"Then what do you mean?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I said he likes to ask, that doesn't mean that we can answer. Just shake your head; he'll be okay with that."

Before I could ask anything else, Riana's eyes widened, practically sparkling as she looked ahead. "Oh, he has tin-foil!" she gasped, "Dibs!"

With that she shot forward and jostled for position among our sisters. I followed warily. There was a lot of excited clicking as I neared the vessel. A ramp had been lowered to the level of the waves and young mermaids cooed eagerly over metallic objects of all shapes and sizes that were displayed there: half-rusted cans, fractured photo-frames, dented colanders, bent spatulas and glittery steel chains.

"Shiny," one girl said, admiring the inner spokes of a bicycle wheel.

"Mine," another clicked making a grab for it.

The first girl held it out of reach and soon the two were grappling for possession of it. Their happy clicks devolved into snaps and hisses. The mermaids I had come to know all shared one fatal flaw – their love of anything sparkly, be it jewels or gold… or scrap-metal. They simply loved it, couldn't get enough of it. Locating Riana again in the noisy melee wasn't too difficult, her blood-red hair stood out like a traffic-cone, not that she'd appreciate the comparison. When I edged closer I found her examining a set of scuffed hub-caps.

"Why is he giving us this stuff?" I asked. He watched us from further back on his deck.

She shrugged, unperturbed by the nature of the unusual man's kindness.

"Giovanni is like the mermaid's version of Santa Claus," she grinned, handing me one of her caps – it came from a _Ford_, "happy holidays!"

Frowning, I muttered, "it's August."

As my sisters amused themselves with Giovanni's impressive collection of junk, I took more interest in his vessel. Swimming around it I viewed it from all angles. It wasn't a simple sail-boat, and it was definitely not a dingy. Nor was it cheap, no, in fact this had to have been a high class motor-boat in its hay-day. And it looked like it had served him well for a very long time. I knew little about mechanics but I could tell that much. He had also taken certain precautions, I noted. The sides were high; low enough to allow him to talk to us easily from where he stood but not low enough to let us get too close to him – clever man.

So he _did_ know us.

I was just eyeing the back propellers near the water-ramp, when the tramp of boots caught my attention, and glancing around I saw a pair of wellies facing me up on deck.

Looking up, I saw the weather-worn mariner eyeing me inquisitively.

"Oh," Giovanni said with surprise, "Well, hello there, young one."

Watching him closely, I drifted a little – out of reach.

"I've not seen you around here before," he continued, "you must be new."

Tentatively, I bobbed my head, taking care not to get close. Riana said he was okay and I was surrounded by my sisters, but still, he was a stranger. He seemed to sense my caution. Kneeling down on deck – perhaps so he appeared less threatening – he gentled his smile. Maybe I wasn't the first to act this way around him.

"What's your name?" he asked gently.

I baulked; opening and closing my mouth like a fish. Did he expect…

He laughed then. "I'm just messing with you, I know you can't speak. Tell you what; I'll give you a name. I do it for all of my regulars. See," and he pointed to my squabbling sisters, "that's: Azure, Nix, Luna, and Octavia. Bet I can think of a good'un for you."

_Oh no_, I flinched, _he was going to call me Ariel, wasn't he?_

"How about… Tirranna," he instantly shook his hand, "No, no, that's not right. Anahita, no…" Putting a hand to his bristly chin, he rubbed at the abrading stubble there, clearly thinking, "Xoco…" he finally nodded, seeming pleased. "Yeah, that'll do fine, Xoco."

_Xo… what?_

Giovanni took in my quizzical look. "It's an Aztec name of ancient origin," he explained, "meaning last born or youngest sister. In this case, you _are_ the youngest sister, or at least you are the newest I've seen so far. So it suits you well."

Okay… well, he seemed nice enough.

"Hey, mind if I show you a photo?" he said, pulling out a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket, "it's of my daughter, see."

The girl must have been about my age, perhaps a little older, with flowing black hair that glinted like a waterfall of shining jet. She was smiling and beautiful, and, in fact, she reminded me a little like Emily, Sam's fiancée, just without the disfiguring scars.

"Have you seen her about?" he asked, almost hopeful, "you know, in your roaming?"

Sadly, I shook my head and a little glint in his eyes seemed to die.

"Ah, well, maybe next time," he said, "there's a whole ocean to search. You come find me if you see her, mind. I just want to know that my little girl is okay."

For a moment, just a passing moment, I had a horribly haunting image of Charlie, a year from now, wandering the docks along the west coast showing off my photo and asking strangers if they had seen his beloved daughter. I gulped, my stomach quivering. Mermaids didn't feel anything, did they? Well that sensation in my gut felt an awful lot like dread…

"I'm always here or hereabouts," he continued with a sad little smile, and then he turned, fetching something that was stashed to the side under some rigging. "Here you go, Xoco," he said, picking up something metallic and offering it to me, "a present from me."

It was a set of forks… I couldn't help but grimace at the synchronicity of these objects to my town's name: Forks, figures. As I accepted the gift, I tried to smile, even though I was a little confused – _what was I going to do with a set of forks?_ Although… they _were_ shiny…

"And bear in mind that I'm not just here to look out for my daughter. I'm here for if any of you girls need help too… though none of you ever ask for it. Just… know that."

With a gruff nod, he turned back to the others – Tara was trying to make off with his fishing nets.

"Ah-ah," he chided, "those aren't for you, Nix. How about a nice shiny spoon instead?"

…

We swam home on mass with our treasure trove of prizes in tow. Riana gifted me with my own kelp pouch to stow my forks and hub-cap in, and before I could leave, Gio had given me a broken vintage-style pocket-watch too. I didn't know what I would do with it but I accepted it all the same. It was just so… _shiny_. It was surprising how much our spirits had been raised by the few battered gifts: from aluminium tin-cans to old car parts. As long as it was shiny we didn't really care what its original function had been. One girl even carried a door-hinge.

"So, you've been named and shamed," Riana said as she swam up beside me, "What did our land-dwelling friend decide to name you, huh?"

"Xoco," I said.

"What?" she scrunched up her face, "that's just bizarre. And I thought he was venturing into the realm of weird when he came up with _my_ name."

"What did he call you?"

"Cyralyn," she grimaced, "it means 'beautiful sun' or some such nonsense. He likes to give us names with meanings. He named Kali '_Chepi_' because it means 'little fairy', and he called Lilith '_Nukpana_' because it means 'evil'." Riana barked out a laugh then, "Lilith was _not_ happy about that one. Kiera had to stop her from clawing out his eyes. To be fair, he only named her that _after_ he caught her trying to incapacitate his motor."

All the sisters joined in with the laughter when Riana shared the memory between us.

_Lilith was livid, red-faced with tangled hair… and her thoughts screamed bloody murder as she lashed out with talon-like nails. She fought against Kiera and two other girls to claw her way to Giovanni, who was safely aboard his boat and well out of harm's way. He stood with his arms crossed and a grim set to his lips viewing the brawl with a frown. The other girls had to eventually haul her back to the colony to calm down_.

Lilith really did have temper issues sometimes.

"So what did he call you, Kiera?" I asked the beautiful elder.

"Omi-no-ta-go," she said, with an elegant accent, "its Cheyenne for 'Beautiful voice'."

Her smile dazzled, but I had to wonder if he had ever _heard_ her singing. Our voices were not designed for humans and above the waves they could make ears bleed. There wasn't any part of our voices that could be considered beautiful.

My questioning thoughts went unnoticed as the others continued the name-comparison session.

"He even named Mara," Riana said, "the one time her saw her. He used a Hepi name meaning 'Warrior Mother Spirit': _Hehewuti_. He understood that she is our leader."

Mara, keeping company with a human…? Not only that, but going out of her way to talk to one? That was unusual by any standard. From what I had come to know of Mara she rarely frequented the surface, would go nowhere near boats or sea-vessels of any kind, and she despised humans, men in particular. The idea of her willingly travelling to meet Giovanni was confusing to say the least.

This time the others noticed the direction of my thoughts.

"Mara is a sucker for a girl in distress," Riana said, "as soon as she heard the story of a father searching tirelessly for his lost daughter her interest was hooked. We brought her to meet him when he began to ask about his child, we thought that if anyone was able to help it would be our colony's leader, but Mara had never seen the girl. She allowed him to live as a courtesy. And since then he's been bringing us stuff!"

Conversation dulled for a while as we simply enjoyed the water. Swimming idly in each other's company out in the open was a rare occurrence that we well intended to exploit.

"Not that this isn't nice," I said, breaking into the comfortable silence as I eyed my new set of forks. "But why does he give us this stuff?"

"I don't know," Riana shrugged. "He just likes to indulge our acquisitiveness."

"I think it makes him happy to know that he's helping girls that have been taken by the sea, the way his daughter was," an unfamiliar voice added from behind.

A mermaid with platinum-blond hair drifted up beside us. We had dived into deeper waters now, and in the growing murk she floated alongside us like an ethereal ghost.

A brief mental consultation from Riana reminded me that her name was Lucrezia.

Considering her thoughts I revised her statement.

"By helping us he feels like he is helping his daughter."

"Precisely," she nodded gracefully and flitted ahead.

"That is… sad." Riana's brow creased, and she looked momentarily confused, as if the word and its associated emotion were alien to her, or long forgotten.

I could feel Riana's minor empathic struggle, because she was indeed feeling a little sad by the idea of Giovanni's lost daughter and his unending search for her, but she could not define the feeling. The confusion was frustrating her.

As soon as she caught the thread of my thoughts she shot them down completely, scoffing loudly and bitterly.

_Don't be ridiculous. Mermaids do not feel sad. _

That was the end of that conversation.

She shut me out after that and would discuss it no further – in thoughts or in words. Not that I was pressing the topic. I tried to talk to her of other things instead, of fish or of how the weather was faring above the sea, but she would say nothing else. So soon I gave up and my own thoughts drifted from Giovanni to Charlie and how he was doing back at home. I sighed. It was going to be a long journey back.

…

**Notes****: **_**Tirranna**_ **is an Australian name meaning 'Running water', and **_**Anahita**_** is an Indian name meaning 'Goddess of water'.**

**Someone asked last chapter: how long until they meet? … It's hard to say without spoilers. There is a BIG chapter coming up, several actually, but stuff happens before… Chapter 16 is one to watch out for, and Chapter 12 has – No! That's all I'm saying for now. :) **


	12. Chapter 12 - Home and House-Calls

**Thank you for reading and to everyone who has review/fol/faved. You guys rock! Nemma. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 12: Home and House-calls – Jacob POV

"Yo! Hobo!" Jake called as he strode onto the beach.

_Though perhaps 'hobo' is the wrong word_, he thought, _no hobo could afford to slum it in such a swanky ride_. Seriously, the R.V. that was now parked in the passing place on the I101 beside the beach had two-floors, side-expansion panels, and an in-built heating system! And, if Jake's suspicions were correct, there was a Jacuzzi hidden somewhere in there too.

It reeked of high-class living almost as much as it reeked of vampire.

"You home?!" he called.

Edward had moved out here the day after Bella had disappeared and, when it had been made clear that he had no intension of leaving the beach where she had last been seen until he found her, Esme had turned up with the mechanical monstrosity the following day.

"Hello, Jacob," Edward said as he emerged from around the back, wiping his hands on a cloth. Jake smelt oil. Had he been tinkering with the engine? Well, he probably didn't have anything else to do out here but kill time. "What brings you out here? Anything new?"

Even Jake could hear the hopeful undertone, however much Cullen tried to supress it.

"No, nothing new," he said, "you'd have heard it straight off from my thoughts if there had been. Billy's taken over from Charlie today, Charlie finally crashed last night and no one had the heart to get him up. In fact, Billy actively discouraged it. Man needs some shut-eye."

"How is Charlie?" Edward asked.

"Bad, but you already know that too. He asked after you."

Edward only nodded, turning back to the van.

"So, has anything happened out here? Is there anything I should know about?"

Edward stilled, with his back to Jake.

"My searches have yet to prove fruitful," he said. Which, translated to: he'd found diddily-squat.

"My phrasing was a little less coarse," Edward noted.

"Bella used to use that phrase all the time when we were kids, you know" Jake said. "When she was eight she said it for a full week straight, drove everyone mad."

He hadn't really been thinking when he'd said it. The memory of an eight year old Bella hopping up and down on his lawn next to Charlie saying, 'Diddily-squat! Diddily-squat! Diddily-squat!' over and over again just popped into his head. But when Edward gasped, his eyes shot up. Edward was looking at him with such a peculiar expression, lips pressed tight, eyes blazing – oh, he knew that look, he'd been wearing it himself often enough this week. But the roiling depths of Edward's eyes looked infinitely worse.

"Sorry," Jake muttered, pushing the memory aside.

Edward turned away, looking to a tool-box on a nearby table. Seemingly at random, he began routing through the inside. When had it gotten to the point where he felt as though he had to tread on egg-shells around Edward? When had he suddenly reached a place where he felt he had to take care of Edward's feelings? Oh yeah, the day when Bella went missing.

"Erm… so, Newton and Crowley are running the search grid today," Jake said, in an effort to change the tone, "they've taken a few people to check out some different areas in-land… not that there's likely to be anything there, mind."

"That's probably a good thing," Edward noted with a swift nod. "We wouldn't want any more humans running into whatever took Bella by the sea. She would hate to know that people were harmed while searching for her."

"Yeah, my dad knows that, that's why he's directing the searches away from the danger zones – I guess we should call them that…"

"Appropriate nomenclature," Edward nodded.

_Nomen…what? No, never mind_, he thought, before Cullen felt the urge to explain. _I don't need a school lesson from a vampire._

"How are you doing at school, Jacob? You are still attending classes, aren't you?"

How did he manage to say that so plainly and yet still sound so much like a condescending adult?

"Seriously," Jake snapped, "you're going to pull the 'you should be in school, kid' crap on me. You _know_ I'm out here looking for her every hour of every day. _Just like you_." He paused, huffing, "Besides, it's only summer school."

Edward sighed, "Bella wouldn't be happy that you are forgoing your education."

"Yeah, well, Bella doesn't get a say in what I do. Not since she chose you!" Ouch, how those words still stung! "And neither do you for that matter! If you want to pull that crap then fine, but you're playing the human-role too. You're trying to convince Forks that you're just as much of a regular teen as the rest of us, so don't be a hypocrite."

Edward may have graduated alongside Bella, sure, and it was the summer holidays, but still… what he was doing out here was _far_ from normal. People had already started talking.

"I meant no offense, Jacob," he said, looking at him directly, "I meant only concern."

"Whatever." _Stupid, know-it-all vampire_…

Edward only sighed again and returned to his tool-box. Metal clanked and twanged as he routed about looking for God-only-knew what.

The beach was quiet today, as it usually was. Yellow and black tape still fluttered in the breeze from where Charlie had cordoned off the area when he'd finally gotten here, and seagulls still cawed, but there was nothing else. And with the waves lapping and the clouds gathering overhead the whole place was almost peaceful, serene…

"I really don't understand why you've set up camp here," Jake said as Edward retrieved a shiny silver ring spanner. "It's not like we've found anything to go on."

"Someone had to stay, just in case," Edward said. "And I am sure you have heard of the saying – a villain always return to the scene of the crime."

"You're hoping that whatever took Bella will come back here."

Doubt filled Jake's thoughts, though he said nothing aloud, but then… he didn't need to.

Edward's shoulders slumped as his eyes met Jacob's, and for a second, just a brief flash of a second, Jacob caught a glimpse of the turmoil within – the burning man.

"It's the only lead I have," he said.

"I know."

The tension crackled from him like static and it set Jake's hackles on edge. Ugh.

Trying for a more jovial tone, he added, "I guess it gives you a good excuse for a daily swim in the sea, at least that's refreshing."

Edward looked out to sea. "I have been swimming those tides for nearly ten hours a day. I have found nothing. No scents, no trace…"

Yeah, they were getting a whole lot of that at the moment – Nothing, nothing, and more nothing. If only something would crop up, anything, however small. If only some deity would take pity on them. If only they could catch a break.

…

Later in the day, for lack of anything else to do, Jake took himself over to the Cullen house. It was time to see if Carlisle's offer of an 'open door' was really what it was. And, just to show what a grateful little pup he was, he strode straight through their front entrance without bothering to knock. Yeah, see what they make of that!

There was barely anyone there. A harassed-looking Jasper sat typing at a computer in a corner with freakish vampire speed, Esme was perusing a set of maps laid out on a low-lying glass coffee-table, and Carlisle was on the phone.

"…Dr Carlisle Cullen, how may I help? …Yes…"

On the other end of the line, Jake could hear a faint tinny voice speaking, _"Err, sorry I… err, someone I know gave me this number," _it said, _"they said you could help."_

"How may I be of assistance?" Carlisle asked politely.

One of his patients, most likely, Jake thought. And his attention waned.

The house was eerily quiet. The others must have been out searching, again. Jake sighed, he'd kind of been hoping for a shock-reception, at least a gasp or a surprised exclamation – after all, it wasn't every day that a real-life werewolf just waltzed alone into a vampire's living room unannounced but… not so much as an 'oh'.

"Is she a brunette?" Carlisle suddenly said, all politeness gone.

The whole room stilled. Every head snapped in his direction and poised, waiting…

Heart in his throat, Jacob strained to hear the voice at the other end of the line.

"_A brunette," _it said,_ "no, she has red-hair."_

Energy seemed to drain from the room, along with the thin shred of hope that had seeped in.

"What is her state?" Carlisle asked, his professionalism taking over.

Feeling the weight of despair wash over him, Jake turned to see the caramel-haired Esme looking up at him from her maps.

"Hello Jacob," she said kindly, "any news?"

"No, I was just… wandering," he said, rather lamely, "Thought I'd drop in."

Smiling, she stood, "You are always welcome. You look exhausted. Would you like to rest? We have several bedrooms you could choose from, I'm sure Edward wouldn't mind if you used his."

She was_ sure?_ Jacob wasn't. He nearly snorted. In fact, he was sure that Edward would have a few choice words about a werewolf sleeping in his room… or at least he would if he still cared. No, he should _not_ feel bad that Edward felt bad! Even if the cause for his sorrow matched Jake's own.

Jake sighed. "Err, thanks, but no, I'm good."

Besides, he'd never be able to sleep with that horrid sickly-sweet stink that saturated the place. It was seriously making his eyes water!

"Some food then," she said.

And before Jake could answer she had flitted into the kitchen. Then came the clink of pots and pans, the opening of a fridge, and the click of an oven.

He could have groaned.

"Might as well take a seat," Jasper commented from the computer. "She's going to cook you something whether you like it or not."

Maybe he could just walk out…

Jasper's eyes snapped up. Geez these vamps sensed everything!

"It's good of you to visit," he said with heavy significance. "It will be good for Esme to be able to take care of someone human for a change."

Great, now he felt bad for another one of them. Since when had he reached the point where he felt the need to make vampires feel good? It was stupid… but that didn't stop him feeling bad about hurting Esme's feelings. Perhaps it was because of how motherly she looked; since he had seen her with Edward that day on the beach he couldn't shift that image from his head. The way she held him, the way she rocked him back and forth… He couldn't help seeing her in a different light now. She reminded him so much of his own mother… the one he had lost so many years ago…

Jasper's lips quirked slightly and he returned to tapping at his keyboard. _Stupid, smug empath sensing everything I want to do_, Jake thought_. I hate vampires_.

Bracing himself for what was likely to be a trial in manners, Jake sat.

Carlisle was still on the phone.

"You haven't rang the emergency services for help have you?" he was saying. There was a long, static-filled pause. Whoever was on the other end of the line was keeping quiet. Then Carlisle quietly added, "A Humboldt squid attacked her you say? That is unusual; I can't say I've ever seen that… Where are you exactly? And who gave you this number?" There was another long pause, and then, "Hmm, they hung up."

Carlisle placed the phone back in its cradle.

"Anything?" Jake gestured towards the phone.

"No," Carlisle said. He sounded exhausted, "Just a fisherman in need of aid."

…


	13. Chapter 13 - The Sea of Cortez

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 13: The Sea of Cortez – BPOV

One particular notion took precedence over all the others. It rooted itself into my brain and burrowed deep, taking a hold and demanding attention until it became all that I could think about: the mariner, Giovanni, had a phone… It had seen it sticking out of his pocket when we had visited his vessel. And I knew the Cullen's number.

Riana heard my plotting.

"You can't go back to them," she said, shaking her fox-red mane, "they'll never accept you as you are now. You know this. Everyone will be better off thinking that you are dead."

She decidedly shot my ideas down before they were even fully formed. I couldn't even fantasise about rescues and reunions; I wasn't even left with that. This unrestricted mental telepathy really sucked at times. Unfortunately, her words rung true and reminded me unerringly of a conversation Jake and I had had about my becoming a vampire.

_Better you be dead than one of them._

How could he think differently about any other species of blood-sucking supernatural? Mermaids preyed on humans, I was told, not just fish, and to Jake that would be that.

Edward wasn't as judgemental… although he'd definitely had issues with the wolves. Human, I knew he wanted; Vampire, if he was pushed; but mermaid? Funnily enough, the topic of another type of species-conversion had never come up. Was this a step too far? Was this what would finally break us up? I wasn't sure if I was ready to find out yet.

Later that day though, I was presented with an opportunity I had been waiting for.

"That's Randall," Riana whispered, as we stopped and stared, "Our resident vampire."

In the tunnel ahead stood a man, smiling at a blond girl I soon recognised as Kiera.

Excitement and anticipation zinged through my veins. Randall, the vampire that had carried me home after the shark bite, the vampire that may know other vampires, the vamp-

A shadow from a nearby tunnel detached itself and began to take form. Suddenly Mara was stood before us – in all her fearsome dark beauty. Her eyes were darker than black.

_Be careful what you say to that man_, she warned, her voice tickling my mind.

_Bella was just going to thank him_, Riana chipped in, _you know, because he carried her home…_ Under Mara's piercing glare, she trailed into submissive silence.

_Make sure that is all you do, Bella. Remember it is not only your own safety I worry for, but that of your sisters'. Would you put their lives in jeopardy just to pass along a message?_

I baulked, wondering how such a subconscious desire had been made so clear.

_No! _I protested, _I would never-_

_-You are not to say anything of the Cullens to him,_ she interrupted,_ understood?_

_But-_

_He is _not_ to be asked about them! Not a single word! _

_And what if he already knows? _My mental tone had a surprisingly waspish sting to it.

_He doesn't_. Her tone was flat and expressionless but somehow confident. _Kiera has assured me of that_.

And with that she vanished into the tunnels behind us, merging seamlessly into shadow.

For a moment I hovered, blinking as if I were recovering from whiplash. A hope that had been slowing sprouting and uncurling within withered and died.

_Bella_, another sweet voice chirped. Aloud, it said, "Sister, come meet Randall."

Looking up, I saw that the beautiful Kiera was waving me over to her and the vampire at her side, who stood strangely upright in the sandy corridors where no one walked.

"Randall," she smiled, beaming at the man with rusty brown hair and burgundy eyes, "I believe you have not officially met our new young one, Bella? Giovanni calls her Xoco."

"Not while awake," he smiled, as his short hair floated eerily around his pale face.

Like all those of his kind, he bore an unnatural stillness, and a beauty that a veiled darkness that caused the spine to shiver. He inclined his head slightly as Riana and I drifted closer.

"I hope your recovery was not too arduous?" he continued, all politeness.

"No, thank you, it was not," I answered in the same tongue. English, as with most land-walker languages was easily discernible beneath the waves; it was just above them that our voice-boxes had problems. "And thank you for your help the other day."

We talked quietly, back and forth, exchanging pleasantries, and a part of me was amazed that he managed to form his words so well without air, but another part of me, one that was growing louder by the minute, was silently screaming to ask his about the Cullens. Perhaps he knew of Carlisle, perhaps he had visited them. But always, I was ever conscious of the other minds monitoring mine. Mara, too, still lurked on the periphery of my thoughts.

In the end, I never voiced those words. And Riana and I departed without incident.

"Probably for the best," Riana said later that day as I wallowed, "it would have only led to heartbreak. Like I said before, the surface-dwellers are better off not knowing about you."

Riana wasn't being malicious; I could read that in her easily enough. She only meant to warn me, and I could only guess that that warning had come from experience – hers or others. After all, she was _pro_-vampire. If anyone was going to encourage me to contact my estranged fiancé it would have been her.

I missed Edward though, more with each passing day. When my moping became too much for Riana, she took me away from the colony on an excavation hunt. That was what she called it. There was a sunken ship, wrecked far to the south-east just in the Gulf of California, and some of the sisters had been combing it intermittently for supplies and anything sparkly. Riana thought that it would be a good thing to occupy my strangely unmermaid-like thoughts.

"I should have been a tour guide," she said, as we perused the outer hull. It was decrepit and crumbling, and its surface was already riddled with straggly dark weeds and scratchy white barnacles. "I was training for the wrong profession when I was in college."

"What were you training for?"

My curiosity spiked, I'd never asked her much about her human life and she'd never volunteered any details before.

"Journalism," she grimaced. "I'd got it into my head that I wanted to be the editor of a hot-hitting inner-city newspaper like the 'New York Times' or the 'Chicago Tribune'."

"Yeah," I smiled and nodded, "I could imagine that. You strike me as the type."

_The type the whole office would be terrified to offend in case it cost them their jobs_. Hot-hitting newspaper run by the fiery red-head? It could have happened. I could just picture her in a black suit, with clacking high-heels and dark squared-rimmed glasses, and a look that could kill should the coffee-boy dare to get her order wrong.

Riana watched my projected imaginings, and her lips quirked in dry amusement.

"I would totally own that tyrannical bitch mode." She grinned, and sighed. "Alas, it was not meant to be."

"You could always set up your newspaper," I suggested, "for the Colony."

"Eh?"

"Well, it's not like we have one, or any system set in place like it, and we have nothing but time at our disposal…" I said as we ventured into a huge hole in the ship's side.

Perusing her lips, she lapsed into consideration as I began to pick around the debris inside. "Nice idea," she eventually said, "but you're forgetting – paper dissolves when wet."

"Then don't use paper. I'm sure you could figure something out."

"What would we call it anyhow, the 'Daily Splash'?"

I cringed theatrically.

"How about: 'The Goby Gazette'?" she added, beginning to grin. 'The Starfish', 'The New Tuna Times', Oh! I know – 'The Daily Dakara'!"

"Perhaps you should just stick to simplicity and go with 'The Mermaid News'."

"That's just dull!" she complained, and her nose crumpled comically, "you have no creativity at all, Bella. You might as well just go with 'The Angling Times'."

"That's copyrighted."

Eventually Riana sighed and the laughter drained from her face.

"It's nice idea… but pointless when the whole colony can pass along all of the information we need in a single thought."

"True," I sighed.

And that was the end of that idea. When I had seen her face light up at the first mention, I had thought the whimsical notion had potential. Still, it was a point of amusement and we laughed about it as we scoured the crumbling wreckage. There wasn't much decent stuff left, it had long since been picked clean, but we did find an old enamelled comb – missing a couple of prongs but useable – two dented buckets, and an old music box with a little ballerina inside that would not play in the water. I was just putting the last of our treasures away into my kelp back-pack when Riana lifted a piece of metal sheeting and a black shadow flashed towards her.

"ARGH!" she cried, tumbling back with her arms upraised.

The black shadow latched onto her forearm as she twisted and struggled. It took a moment for me to blink, confused, and then my stance broke and I darted to help her. The creature was small, maybe the size of a cat, and coloured the deep burgundy of blood. As they flailed I thought I saw tentacles – _a squid?_ It took us a long time to grapple with the damn thing. Whatever I did it wouldn't let go of Riana's arm and soon she was screaming.

I thought she was panicking and tried to calm her down while I struggled with the creature's slippery flesh – it was like lubricated rubber! – but that was before the cloud of red blossomed from beneath its tentacles. And I smelt iron. _Oh God, it's bitten through the skin_.

"The beak!" Riana screamed. "It's the beak!"

Crap. In biology class I'd heard about that. Some squids had beaks that were more powerful than teeth. They cut flesh, crushed bone. I panicked in earnest, but everything I did was no good. No matter how much I scratched and scrabbled and pulled I could not pry the thing lose. In desperation I called for our sisters, screaming aloud and telepathically for anyone within reach. Perhaps there were a few nearby, perhaps they would hear… but my high echoic clicks went unanswered. No, none were nearby.

We were in treacherous waters here, close to the tropics, and her blood would not go unnoticed for long. _Sharks_, my thoughts shook and my eyes darted. I could see nothing yet, no huge dark shadows looming in the gloom, but that meant nothing.

There was no way we could stay. I had to get her out of here.

The colony was too far though, and she was in too much pain. I could continue calling for our sisters, but I _knew_ that they were too far away – back near Dakara. The only thoughts nearby were Riana's and Riana's alone. And even those were becoming foggy as she quieted.

"What do I do?" I asked in desperation.

She grated something that I did not hear and I leaned in close. She was weakening now; the waters were thick with red mist, her struggles had slowed, and her voice barely carried.

"Giovanni," it sounded like she hissed.

"Can he help?" I asked in disbelief

_Riana was openly requesting the help of a human? _Well he did say that we could go to him with anything. She didn't say anything further, but in her mind she projected an image of the grizzled old sailor with an urgency I had never felt from her before.

"Okay," I agreed.

I didn't need any more incentive than that. Gaining a firm grip on her waist, I propelled us into the dark waters in the direction we had last seen his ship.

…

Giovanni was untangling a length of netting, removing sticks, shells, and bits of seaweed. When I surfaced he was battling with a sea-beaten old boot that clearly did not want to come loose, its laces had tangled in the weave.

"Well hello, Xoco," he said with a delighted smile when he spotted me. "I didn't expect to see you so-" He stopped short as he took in my frantic eyes and Riana's limp form.

Her state had grown dire, worsening as we swam. Now her pale skin had an oddly grey cast and there were shadows beneath her eyes. The savage squid had broken loose sometime during our swim and vanished, and now the flesh of her arm hung open grotesquely, strips of it flapping in the waves. My stomach flipped, its contents threatening to abandon ship.

"Help her," I implored, forgetting my limited language ability above the water.

All that came out was a strangled screech.

Giovanni was already hurrying forward. Without preamble he jumped down onto the lower platform of the boat, the one that was almost level with the water, reached out to us and dragged Riana closer. For an instant I was surprised, to allow himself to be so close to us was risking his safety and if this had been a trick he would already be dead. He didn't seem to even consider the danger he was placing himself in though.

"What happened?" he asked, all seriousness as Riana's head flopped back in his arms.

She still slumped in the water; only her scaly emerald torso was visible. So I pulled her arm out of the surf and placed the damaged limb in his hand. It looked worse above water.

Giovanni examined it briefly while I tried to mimic tentacles with my hand. He was never going to get it. Amazingly, he muttered, "Humboldt squid," and, gently placing Riana's head against the lower deck while I held her waist, he rushed to a box stashed under a seat on the port-side of the deck. He threw things aside in a frenzy but soon seemed to find whatever it was he was after and ran back to us.

"Help me lift her aboard," he said.

I complied without question, but we only succeeded in towing her so far, most of her tail was still in the water, but it was enough. Pulling out lengths of cloth he began to apply pressure to the now barely weeping wounds. How much blood had she lost?

Vainly I thought of Carlisle as my hands gripped the deck, sure that he would have been able to help more effectively. Not that I was ungrateful for Giovanni's help, I wasn't, if anyone could save her now it would be him. That didn't stop the niggling feeling in the back of my mind that wanted Carlisle. Carlisle would have been better. And he was far away…

_Shush now_, I reprimanded myself, _you are in the Cortez Sea and far from his help. Even if you had gotten word to him it would have taken too long for him to get here, vampire speed included. Not to mention all the other issues that would have been raised by contacting him._

"The bleeding's slowed but I don't know whether that's a good thing," Giovanni admitted, shaking his head, "I'm afraid that my medical knowledge is frighteningly deficient and what I know purely relates to humans. Her breathing worries me…"

Breaths rattled in her chest. Her eyes were closed. And Giovanni looked up morosely.

"Really, she needs a hospital."

My gasp said more than any words could.

"I know it's not possible," he sighed, rubbing his stubbly salt-and-pepper beard. He paused, slowly looking up. "How far is it to the colony?"

Grimacing, I shook my head. It was too far and I didn't know how the mermaids would react to him encroaching on their territory. We could be viciously hostile when provoked. They tolerated him from a distance, because he provided us with shiny things, but I feared their tolerance would wane if he became too knowledgeable of us. Giovanni seemed like a good man, I didn't want him to get hurt. I had been told that he wanted to find out as much as he could about mermaids ever since his daughter had vanished, and while I didn't think he would use this situation to his advantage his suggestion worried me. But Riana needed help…

No, the colony was just too far; by boat it would take even longer to reach than by swimming alone. And if I swam there was the issue of the blood and the sharks…

But… there _was_ another option…

I was bending the rules just by considering it; more than bending I was twisting them into knots. As was usually the case with me I fretted constantly over the consequences of an upcoming decision, but once said decision was made I relaxed, half the anxiety was in the unknowing, and really, I'd already made up my mind as soon as I'd thought of it.

Without further delay I snatched the phone from his pocket – causing him to flinch back in alarm at my quick movements – and keyed in the number. Holding it out to Giovanni with an imploring look I only hoped he could interpret, I left it up to him to press call.

For a moment, all he did was gape, then, he dialled the number, watching me carefully.

I think – or rather hoped – that he understood the gravity of this situation. The only land-walkers I would know shouldn't be privy to my current state. To contact them now…

"_You've reached Dr Carlisle Cullen, how may I help?"_

"Doctor?!" Giovanni exclaimed with surprise, looking at me with wide eyes.

"_Yes…"_

"Err, sorry I… err, someone I know gave me this number, they said you could help."

"_How may I be of assistance?"_

"I have a young girl here, she's injured."

"_Is she a brunette?"_

His voice was suddenly frantic, not polite and casual, and Giovanni frowned a little.

"A brunette, no," he said, eyeing my dark tresses, "She has red-hair."

I heard what could have been a disappointed sigh on the other end of the line.

"_What is her state? What has happened to her?"_

"I'm far from help and I have limited medical supplies. She isn't well; she was brought to me with injuries. She was attacked by a Humboldt squid, it mauled her arm."

I phased out a little, as Carlisle hurriedly instructed Giovanni as to her care and Giovanni mechanically repeated whatever he heard as he checked Riana. Giovanni continued to clean and dress her wound with only the odd "yes" and "okay". At one point he said "Xoco, hand me those bandages." My stomach flipped before my brain could kick into gear and remind me that Carlisle did not know that name. In the end it turned out that Giovanni had done a reasonable job – or at least as good as he could considering the circumstances – and there didn't seem to be much else Carlisle could tell him. It was clear she needed stitches but Giovanni was reluctant to attempt those considering he had done nothing of the type before. I could only hope that there would be better help at the colony, perhaps from Mara.

"_How is her temperature?"_ Carlisle's voice then asked.

Giovanni checked. "She's very cold…"

Shaking my head, I tried to indicate that this wasn't necessarily an issue. To emphasise my point I took his hand and placed it on my forehead – icy. We were cold-blooded beings.

"Oh," he said, acknowledging the chill.

"_What is it?"_

"That, err, never mind."

"_She needs a hospital, as soon as possible. My instruction alone is not enough to ensure her health."_

"I am too far away. There are no hospitals for miles."

"_I understand, but you should get the girl to one as soon as possible."_

"I fear that she doesn't want to go to one."

There was a pause.

"_You haven't rang the emergency services for help have you?"_

Giovanni didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say. We were treading dangerous waters now. When Carlisle's voice returned, it was slow, as if he were considering.

"_A Humboldt squid attacked her you say? That is unusual. I can't say I've ever seen that… Where are you exactly? And who gave you this number?"_

"We're in the Sea of…" he trailed off as he noticed me shaking my head. "Thank you for your help, doctor."

He hung up.

That was probably a good move, but still, I felt the disconnection ring in my gut as if a taught line had been severed and I was reeling from whiplash.

_Focus_, I had other things to focus on – Riana.

Now Riana was stable, or as stable as she was going to get, I really needed to get her back to the colony… and if Giovanni was willing to provide safe transportation while I held onto Riana and stemmed the bleeding…

"Will you allow me to take you home now?" he asked.

Against my better judgement, I climbed on-board beside Riana and allowed Giovanni to take us closer to the colony. It was just too dangerous to move Riana so far in her current condition. But still, I let our tails trail in the water off the end of the deck… just in case.

As the motor juddered and we got underway, Giovanni quietly steered the helm. I mutely pointed towards the western horizon and he rotated two points to starboard to match.

"Was that man your father?" he said unexpectedly, eyes ahead.

I didn't respond, watching the ocean fly past. It wasn't like I could speak anyway.

"I'd want to know what had happened to my daughter, no matter what that was. Maybe you could…" I looked at him sadly and away again. "Or perhaps it's none of my business."

No, it wasn't his business. Frowning, I tugged Riana closer, enclosing her in the safety of my arms. I wasn't about to let her go and as much as she seemed to trust this human, and as nice as he appeared, at the first sign of deceit I was throwing us both back into the sea.

…

**Hope you liked the new chapter. Thanks for the lovely reviews last week. :) **


	14. Chapter 14 - Ethics and Resolutions

**This is a bit of a filler chapter, but it had to be done. Pace picks up again after this.… **

**Thank you for reading, and enjoy, Nemma. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 14: Ethics and Resolutions – BPOV

Riana's recovery did not take as long as I had anticipated. Mara was particularly attentive to her and mindful of her care; she foraged for and brought back a number of unusual seaweeds that she said had medicinal value. I watched with great interest as she mixed them together in pastes and poultices. She had to go above water in one of our air-rooms to make the pastes. Carlisle would have been fascinated, I was sure.

As she regained her health, Riana became more and more alert. Her hunger seemed to run parallel to her grumpiness – if one was high, then so was the other. And the quicker she got better the sharper her temper became, until the point at which anything could set it off.

"Tuna?!" she snapped. "Tuna, I don't want that muck! I'm recovering from a serious injury! Get me _shark_ meat!"

That statement was usually followed by her tuna-steak flying across the chamber. Even with one arm bound in a seaweed sling, she still managed to throw really well. And she would not be happy until someone complied. I remembered how bad Lilith had reacted to Giovanni's name for her and I wondered if flash-tempers were a mermaid trait. I hoped not.

As one of our sisters brought in a platter of fresh lemon-shark fillets, I sat at Riana's side to keep her company. _She looks so much better now_, I mused, _better than she did when Giovanni delivered her to Mara's waiting arms not half a mile from our underwater lair_.

Thinking back, I remembered how, as the boat had chugged closer and the underwater alarm calls had gone out, I had telepathically screamed at our sisters not to attack him. Once they realised that two of their own were on board, their alarm had ratcheted up another notch. But as I replayed the memories, and showed them how Giovanni had helped, their anger had simmered down enough for them to think clearly and not butcher the poor man.

Mara's reaction to Giovanni was a one-eighty to what I had expected. She was cheerfully grateful for his assistance in the return of her injured daughter and for his amateur medical aid. She even went so far as to go and thank him personally.

For Mara that was unheard of. And I was left gobsmacked.

I was just telling Riana about Mara's agreeable attitude when another thought occurred.

"You know," I said, "for being the fastest species in the ocean, we don't seem to fair too well among its other species. Between my shark bite and your Humboldt squid attack we're really raking up the war-wounds."

"Yeah," she laughed in her kelp-bed, and studiously examined her bound arm, "we do get ourselves into some scrapes. I didn't before I met you. You're a bad influence."

By her joking tone I could tell that she didn't really mean it.

"_I'm_ the bad influence?" I choked out a laugh.

"Damn right, vampire girl."

I sighed. "How _did_ neither of us see that thing coming?"

The creature had just dived at her from out of the gloom. There had been no sound, no warning. Riana nodded sadly.

"We maybe supernaturally fast but our other senses can be somewhat lacking. We're like F1 rally racers, we have awesome track skills but when the pedal hits the metal…"

Vampires had much better control over their speed. Feeling nostalgic, I remembered back to when I would ride on Edward's back as he ran at light-speed through the forest. I had worried that Edward would hit a tree whilst carrying me. He just ran so fast… Worryingly, the memory was rather murky and difficult to recall. _What shirt had he worn that day?_

"That is rather cute," Riana commented as she browsed my current train of thought. "You were dating a vampire, frequently visiting his vampire family without anyone else's knowledge, and the part that had you worried most was that he'd crash with you while running too fast, _not_ that he or his family might drain you dry and stash your body where that no one would ever find it."

Another slab of shark meat made its way to her mouth and was immediately torn to shreds by her razor-sharp teeth, fangs included.

That comment irritated me. "They're not like that."

Shark hide shredded and bits drifted into the water, a little blood leaked out too.

"Hey, I wasn't having a go at you, squirt." She held her hands up as she munched. "Just saying is all. Considering that all you knew about them was that they were vampires – something they were trying to keep hidden – I just think it was a pretty brave thing to do."

"What… date Edward?" _A brave thing to do…? _

"Yeah or maybe I'm using the wrong term. What's the word that describes the place exactly between brave and blindly stupid?"

"Shut up."

I threw her kelp-weave blanket at her. The move would have been more effective above water, below it lacked momentum and fluttered benignly in front of her face. She swatted it aside.

"…and you were best friends with a werewolf," she continued, undeterred, "you hung out with his pack. Now you're living with a horde of blood-thirsty mermaids. I'm thinking you lack the essential genetic code for survival instinct."

Hey, I was still here.

"You aren't the first one to say that," I admitted. Danger did seem to stalk my every step. "But what about you? You survived a newborn vampire attack and are now living with same said colony of blood-hungry mermaids. You know, you're only one step behind me in the 'how many supernaturals have I met' race."

"True, I suppose, but I didn't befriend _my_ vampire, let alone date him. My current state of just-about-living can be attributed to pure dumb luck. _Thank you, fates_."

My life could too, I guessed. Against the odds I was still here. Then again, I could be in a better situation. Perspective all depended on whether you were the glass is half-full or the glass is half-empty type of person. In which case, mine was half-full. As much as I'd rather be at Edward's side right now, or snuggled safely in his arms, I was grateful for the life I had. After all, there was still a chance, no matter how minute, that I could still retrieve a portion of what I'd had with him, my old life. Or at least, I still _hoped_ that there was a chance.

_What if he doesn't want me anymore? What if he sees me like this and that's it?_

_What if Riana is right?_

As always, my treacherous fears weighed me down. The worry was always there and for the most part it went ignored, there was no point dwelling in misery just yet. I could always do that later when my predictions came to fruition… If! …_If_ they came to fruition.

I just had to hope that they never would.

…

Hours became days, days became weeks, and somehow, by some miracle of fate, I maintained my sanity and found a way to live. To survive the madness that surrounded me. Yes, it was difficult, how could it not be? Away from the people I loved: my family, my friends, Charlie, Alice, Jake… and most importantly, Edward.

Being away from Edward was the hardest part, but it didn't hurt as much as our separations used to. Perhaps that was due to mermaid-genetics – Riana said they would dull my sensitivities with time. Or maybe it was because I knew that he was safe with his family and that wherever he was, he still loved me. I had not been privy to that vital piece of life-preserving knowledge last fall when he'd left me 'for my own good'. This separation was different. I missed him but I could function. He probably felt it more acutely…

My memories now lay solidly in my head, and that was good. But memory was not emotion. And without that I had no driving passion to return home.

Acceptance into the colony was the easy part, to them I was one among many and in the freezing ice-cold venom of change I had become something substantially more, kin, a treasured sister. Inclusion in the sisterhood was unconditional.

If I could not describe their immediate and unrestricted acceptance of me as anything else, I would say it was love. But then, mermaids did not experience that type of emotion.

Mermaids did not love.

Riana taught me to hunt when she was well enough. I could now spot and track tuna, cod, halibut and any number of other North Pacific fish from a half-mile radius without too much trouble. Kali took joy in braiding my hair with tiny little plaits, and showed me the styles preferred by most mermaids of the North Pacific (apparently fashions varied between seas and colonies). Other nameless sisters temporarily overtook my training and the duties of my care, teaching me to: forage shells, weave seaweed blankets, deflect sharks using a high-pitched alarm-signal whenever they ventured too close, maintain a constant watch on the area surrounding our colony (guard duty was on rotation and my shift came up every fifth day), and clean out the tunnels (we used our tails but even with the added novelty of it being underwater, cleaning was about as much fun as it was on the surface, but it needed doing). I was told that there were other duties but those were reserved for the more senior members and new arrivals were not expected to contribute until their second year of ocean-life. No one bothered to give me any specifics of those mysterious tasks and I got the idea that I was better off not knowing just yet. One mermaid – whose name I never learnt and who communicated purely through telepathic imagery – taught me to forage, showing me which seaweeds provided the best nutrition and the best places to gather cockles and muscles. Even Mara took time to check in on me and see how I was progressing. One day, while we swam together, I thought I felt a subtle tug at my mind but when I focussed I couldn't feel it anymore, and when I looked to Mara she was staring ahead at a coral bed. After that I couldn't seem to remember what I had been thinking about. It was important… I was sure…

Three weeks into my residence she presented me with my own personally inscribed knife and hunting belt. It was beautiful. Composed of a material similar to leather, the brown belt was decorated with Celtic patterning, interlaced with thin and subtle strings of gold which covered its length, including the dagger's sheath. My hunting knife was simple in design but effective and when I examined it closely I noticed my name etched in perfect calligraphy along its hilt. The construction of such a gift had obviously taken a lot of time and effort, it left me speechless. Mara merely smiled at my dumbfounded expression and told me: "You are my daughter now, and my daughters deserve no less."

However, when I was alone I was never allowed further away than the closely guarded perimeter of the colony lands. For all the grandeur and gifts and pretences, I was not blinded to the fact that I was still a prisoner in a gilded cage. They did not trust me not to run.

Eventually I _was_ trusted enough to be alone; this privilege afforded a certain measure of liberty and allowed me to roam more freely. My sister's eyes became less watchful and I became less guarded. The colony became less like a glorified prison-camp. I integrated. I made friends. My mind merged with others and thoughts flowed freely, without caution or restraint. I spoke using words less and less, as there was no need to speak verbally when the mind said it all. I became one among many and I was happy about it, there was a certain degree of freedom in the hive-mind of my sisters, where little went unnoticed. Who would crave lonely individuality when you could be one of a whole?

Overtime, my knowledge of the surface-world began to fade. Like a light-bulb on a dimmer switch my memories of people became less defined, their voices less articulate. It began by degrees; one day I found that I could not remember the exact shade of Charlie's hair, or the lilting tone of Alice's soprano voice… or the signature scent of Edward's skin. It was like my mind had become the sieve Edward had once accused it of being. This was not terribly troubling, as my sisters informed me that it was a common occurrence. They had all experienced similar and were there for me should I need them. They were, after all, my family now, my sisters. They told me not to worry, therefore I did not.

Life was, if not perfect, at least tolerable. The problems came one morning when Riana re-introduced me to another fundamental dietary requirement.

"You want me to drink human blood?" I said flatly.

She beamed with what she considered to be an angelic smile of encouragement.

"_No_." She held the smile strictly in place, but it looked like she was trying to hold onto her patience. Her mind betrayed her; she was already anticipating a row of epic proportions. "_You_ want _you_ to drink human blood."

"No, I don't." I shot the idea down immediately.

"Yes, you do."

"No I don't."

"Yes you-"

"No!" I was firm on this. I had already seen their methods of feeding through our telepathic link and those images would haunt me for life, "In a thousand different ways no."

She sighed and rubbed her brow, exasperated. "Well, this is a good start." She appeared to be communing with the ceiling. "What if," she held up her hands as if she expected me to stop her before she had her say, "What if I go and get the blood _for_ you? I'll just nip into the meat-locker drain a few pints and bring it back. Simple, easy, no gore involved for you."

I looked at her incredulously. "There's fresh blood in the meat-locker?"

She smiled. "Yes. I'll even go as far as to pretend it's tomato soup, or cranberry juice."

"You're joking right?" Her face said she wasn't. "That doesn't make a difference."

"Would you prefer Randall to do it?" she frowned quizzically, "I could always ask-"

"No!"

"Why not?" She grimaced impatiently. "What is the problem with you and blood?"

"I… I…" I struggled with my thoughts, trying to dredge up a valid reason. There had to be one… "I faint at the smell of it. I've never been able to stand that horrible irony tang."

There! That was the reason… I remembered now. _A biology lab… A boy's finger being pierced, the cloying scent and the accompanying dizziness… Edward carried me to the nurse's office and laughed at me for my nausea…_ How had a forgotten that?

But that wasn't the primary reason I disagreed… was it?

Riana laughed knowingly. "Trust me, that particular problem will be a thing of the past when the smell hits you again. You won't care about fainting."

"I have other reasons."

"Oh, really! Surprise me."

"It's wrong." My moral ethics finally kicked in. "I refuse to kill a human."

Edward was a blood-drinker, Jacob called him a leech but he had never hurt humans to control his thirst. At least he didn't now. He survived differently…

"Oh, not this again, Bella…" In a very Edward-like moment she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I really don't see the problem with preying on blood-bags."

"The problem is _we_ used to be _them_. Those 'blood-bags', as you have so affectionately dub them, could be friends, family."

She shrugged, "Well, don't eat your family then. It's simple, restrict your hunting grounds. Track prey in the South, you have no relatives down there, right?"

"Even if they are not people I know personally, they have lives and emotions and people who depend on them."

"Chickens and cows have offspring that depend on them, and they depend on the farmer that feeds them, we still ate them when we were human."

She had a point, not one that I was willing to concede though.

"Humans are a little different to food picked up from the freezer aisle."

"You ate meat while you were human, right?" she said, "Or are you going to tell me you were a vegetarian too?"

I almost said I was, but didn't bother with the lie, one cursory glance at my thoughts would reveal my fetish for Kentucky fried chicken, or my lifelong love affair with red meat of any form, spare ribs and fillet steak dripping barbeque sauce…

Shaking myself out of my reverie, I barked, "We are not having this discussion."

My sudden hunger was making me snappy.

"Alright," she conceded, "but I'll tell you now – if you don't deal with this sooner, you're going to have to deal with it later. This issue isn't one that can be put off indefinitely. It won't go away. You _will_ crave blood, and you _won't_ be able to deny the thirst. You've already been with us for two weeks; I give you a month, tops. If you don't sort this out soon it'll come back to bite you in the ass. Or more likely, you'll bite someone else in the ass. Just let me know when the blood-lust hits and I'll go hang around on the other side of the ocean."

I didn't appreciate the sarcasm.

…

That night I kept tossing and turning and stirring up the sandy sea-bed in my cave. I couldn't settle. Whenever I tried to, my mind was assaulted with images of blood-coated hands, blood-dripping mouth, severed limbs held limply in my grip.

"You _will_ crave blood soon, and you _won't_ be able to deny the thirst," Riana had said.

It was like my nightmares were waiting poised behind my closed lids, standing by for the second I closed my eyes to pounce, assaulting me from any and all angles.

I thought of Edward, I remembered the night he had agreed to our compromise, the way he had stroked my cheek and looked deeply into my eyes.

"Changing you will be the most selfish thing I ever do. Although I will get to keep you, although I will cherish you for eternity, the last thing I ever wanted was to damn your soul…"

In the end I could take no more and quietly slipped out of our room. Riana was fast asleep, snuggled into the sand of our shared cave and curled up under a kelp-weave blanket. A thin stream of bubbles slowly trailed from her mouth up to the ceiling. She looked so peaceful in sleep, the wry bitterness of her daily face wiped clean in slumber.

The colony was surprisingly silent as I swam, both physically and mentally. The hour must have been very early but I found the silence relaxing, it allowed me peace with my own thoughts – a luxury I didn't consciously realise I was lacking until it was presented to me.

Drifting through the tunnels, my thoughts turned to Carlisle; he had believed that killing humans in his newly-changed vampire-state was inevitable. In a brave, altruistic attempt to save the lives of unknown strangers he had removed himself from civilisation, gravitating to the most isolated areas of the world. (Well, you couldn't get more isolated than the middle of the Pacific Ocean.) That idea had potential but it was flawed. Vampires, unlike mermaids, could survive indefinitely, without blood. It wasn't pleasant but they could. Mermaids could not. Riana said I had about a month? That gave me little time for planning.

Carlisle had spotted deer; he had drank from them and survived. He had sated his thirst and lived. If it had worked for a vampire, why couldn't it work for a mermaid?

I wouldn't know until I tried.

Could I manage to do the same? Could I be strong enough? Could I avoid becoming the monster Edward had never wanted me to be?

Most of the planning for my newborn vampire-stage had involved Edwards's aid in teaching me to hunt and control my thirst. Most of our plans had relied on him holding me back before I made any mistakes so grave that I would regret them for eternity.

Well, I didn't have Edward now, and as much as that hurt I had to accept it.

I had to do this alone.

Because enlisting Riana's help in tracking humans to eat was _not_ an option.

I had to do this alone. I _would_ do this alone.

With that resolve, I began to plan. I wasn't craving yet and that was a blessing in itself, so I still had time. Time I would use well.

…

**Next chapter, some old Forksian characters pop up. Won't say who… :)**


	15. Chapter 15 - Surfacing

**Thank you for reading, and thank you to the reviewers for all of your wonderful messages. Enjoy the newest instalment, Nemma. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 15: Surfacing – BPOV

As I had been granted a certain amount of freedom, I began to slip away from the colony more and more often, for longer each time. As long as I returned the others did not worry. After all, their main concern was that I would try to return to my surface-family. They bore no fears that I would try to find an alternative to our natural diet of human blood.

Riana accompanied me sometimes; I was still young, and after what had happened with the shark, she worried. I told her what I was doing of course, it was useless to try and hide it with our telepathic link, and although she scoffed and called it folly, she followed my lead.

"I told you before," she sighed as we swam the open ocean currents, "animal blood just doesn't work for us. So why subject yourself to this?"

"How do you know that it doesn't work?" I queried, genuinely curious.

"It's just… known," she shrugged. "Everyone knows that."

"Has anyone ever tried it?"

Her pause then was longer. "No…" she eventually conceded. "Not that I know of, but someone must have in the past. How else would we know? Anyway, it doesn't matter. Once you've tasted human blood you won't _want_ to try anything else."

I flinched. Her thoughts were diverting down a much darker, bloodier path.

"More reason for me to try this now. If vampires can do it, so can I."

"Well," she said, considering, "I suppose we wouldn't want to be outdone by our land-based brethren. Alright, I'm with you. Let's see what you can do."

And so began our excursions to the coast. We saw no humans and few animals but I hoped that if we found a cove that was secluded enough, we may encounter a herd of caribou grazing by the shore. Once the craving hit, I planned to return and sate the thirst with them – it was what vampires did. But the plan was proving to be difficult. Elk were inland animals and very rarely ventured close to the sea. So some days we would just give up with our search, find a nice sandy bay, and lounge, semi-submerged, in the sun.

"Just like real mermaids," Riana laughed wryly as rays of light glinted off her emerald scales and the water lapped languidly at her waist.

For the most part I had no idea where we were, but the heat told me that we were closer to the equator than Washington; maybe California, or even Mexico. Wherever we were it was isolated.

After a week with little success we decided to venture further north, to colder climes.

"Perhaps there are herds of deer nearer to Washington," Riana prompted.

When I baulked at the idea, worried about how close to my former home we may get while on the brink of blood-thirst, she sighed and simply said, "We won't go _that_ far. We'll just hunt around Oregon's shores, okay?" The idea still sat ill with me. _Too close_, I thought.

Frequently Riana would become bored with our treks, especially during long surveillances, and wander off to hunt on her own as I continued to eye the shorelines. Today was one such day. After a morning of surveying different bays, she had pouted and scoffed.

"That's it. I'm officially bored _out of my mind_. I'm off to track some mackerel."

And with a flick of her powerful tail, she had gone. That was an hour ago. Since then I had found a herd of small deer – roe, I thought – grazing in a forest that bordered a sandy bay. I was just creeping up onto the rocks, seeing how close I could get to a stray female, when the creature's head shot up and her nostrils flared.

_Damn it_, I thought, dismayed. I had gotten so close. _I nearly had her_.

But others froze too, their ears pricking and muscles tensing as they raised their heads to the north, and I began to realise that I wasn't the one who had startled them.

There were voices. Several of them.

"Whatever, Ben," a boyish voice shouted, "But I _am_ right."

Hooves clacked and the herd vanished into the thick canopy of pine trees behind as the crunch of shale signalled the arrival of humans. Heart pounding, I slunk back, hiding in the waves behind a rocky outcrop as another voice answered, just as young as the first.

"Officer Mark wanted us to check further inland though, didn't he?"

"He did," the first voice continued, "and we will. I just don't see the point of not checking out this place first. It wasn't marked on the maps as 'searched'."

With every word, the humans drew a little closer, and on the wind I caught a stray wisp of orange blossom and camomile – from them? Oh, it was sweet, sweeter than-

My hand covered my mouth. What if their scents set me off? What if they triggered the blood-thirst and I couldn't stop myself? Where was Riana? I needed her…

"Hey, be careful," a girl's voice called, further away. "That rock ledge is covered in seaweed. It might be slippy up there. Don't fall into the sea!"

There was a scrabbling noise – of shoes on rock? – and a rain of tiny pebbles cascaded down. Oh God. Was the boy climbing the ledge? If he was I sat, unconcealed, in the surf below. A second before he reached the precipice, I ducked below the frothing tide.

The human boy stood above with a hand shading his eyes, peering far out to sea. He wore thermals and had a boyish face, with dimpled cheeks and fashionably cut blond hair that flopped about his face. Familiarity stung my chest, driving deep like a knife. I knew him.

"Mike," I gasped into the water.

It was Mike Newton. The memory was faint but there. Easy smile, puppy-dog eyes…

"Don't worry about me, Jess," he called back over his shoulder. "Bella went missing on a beach, didn't she? So shouldn't we be checking more places along the shore? I don't know why half of the search parties are looking inland. It just seems odd to me."

"That's not where Charlie's been sending them," another boy answered, and as he scrambled into view beside Mike, I saw another familiar face – Tyler. "Billy Black has been redirecting a lot of the search-teams. But I guess they're in charge, they probably know best."

My heart was beating so loudly beneath the waves that I was surprised they couldn't hear it! Mike, Tyler, Ben, and Jessica… not ten feet away from me – and on the beach behind them it sounded like there were more people – and they were looking for _me_?

My eyes prickled. I hadn't been forgotten. Half of my class was out here searching for me. What about Charlie? And Jake, the Cullens, Edward?!

It was like a meteor strike. In that second memories bombarded me from all angles, and without the smothering influence of my sister's thoughts each was as sharp and acute as a photo – flash after flash after flash. Too bright, too many… I remembered, I remembered them all. I just needed to be reminded… Feeling this new emotional weight that I shouldn't be able to carry, one thing became clear: Mara could never know about this. None of my sisters could know. Not even Riana. If they did, they would smother the memories again.

Above I heard a dull plop. It looked like Tyler and Mike had started to skim stones.

I smiled a little. _Just like when we visited La Push_. The memories came more clearly now.

"Three," Mike grinned.

"No way!" Tyler shouted, "That was four! I got four!"

"Learn to count, Crowley, because that there was three skims."

I wanted to stay badly, so very badly. I wanted to listen and hear about their lives and the lives of others. I wanted to learn about all I had missed. But it wasn't safe. Water may smother their scents. I may not react to them, yet. I may… But I couldn't take that chance.

Sinking lower I dissolved into the grey murk until the surface above was nothing but a vague crystal shimmer, sparkling in the sun. I then turned and flitted into the chilly gloom. Neither of them would have seen me with their dull human eyes, neither would ever know how close they had come to finding me… the thought stung, so much more than it should have.

I would need to get a handle on this, to get control of these impossible emotions, before I found Riana and returned to the colony. With that in mind I spent a good hour swimming in the deeper riptide along the coast until I felt a measure of calm settle into my bones.

_Riana will be wondering where I am… _I eventually realised.

The thought pulled me out of my reverie and I began to make my way back. I wouldn't get close to the beach, I decided. My old friends could still be there and I did not trust myself. But I needed to find my sister, and that was the place we had parted. So I had to head that way.

With our telepathic link, I reached out, scanning for her mind. I reached far, covering the ocean floor and hearing only fish swim and weeds sway and the rhythmic turn of the tides. For a while there was nothing else, nothing tangible, but then, as I drifted further north, I felt it.

It began as just a tenor of thought. Sharp and focussed but unmistakable.

_Riana_, she was not far from me… and she was hunting.

Well, she had said something about wanting mackerel, and she-

I gasped, pulling up short as I watched through her eyes.

Only a thin veil of silky blue water lay between her and her prey, and slowly, ever so slowly, like a lioness on the prowl, she edged closer – a huntress in her prime.

The human leaned precariously over a rocky ledge, peering into the lagoon, and as I watched through Riana's eyes, her beatific face surfaced to greet him. The male had a boyish face, with dimpled cheeks and blond hair that flopped about his face…

"Mike," I gasped, for the second time in one day.

Mike Newton was the one who crouched before Riana, enchanted by her gaze.

And her intent was crystal clear: Blood, she wanted blood.

And she was going to kill him for it.

"Whoa," he mumbled, spellbound and dazed, "you're gorgeous…"

Riana smiled at him sweetly, coyly, and he leant forward, closing the distance between them as if in a trance. On one level it was comical – watching him drool so blatantly over Riana – but on another much more prominent level it was terrifying. Knowing her intentions stoked the sickening lump in my throat. There was no way I could let it happen.

Bracing myself for the wrath of a thousand harpies, I propelled through the water with lightning speed. She was only one beach along from where I had found them earlier. I should have known. I should have guessed at the danger they were in so close to the sea and my kind. This was my fault, mine, but I could flagellate myself with that knowledge later.

Mike's face lay inches from the water's surface now, where Riana's silken lips beckoned. She reached up, intending to cup his cheeks and draw him down…

I grabbed her tail and yanked her beneath the surf.

Riana slashed down with a splutter and a cough. Wide-eyed, she cast around in confusion. Above us, a dumb-founded Mike dreamily mumbled, "Hey… where'd you go…?"

When Riana saw me something snapped, and I watched as dawning realisation flickered and sparked, igniting into white-hot molten fury.

"What the _hell_, Cullen?" she seethed, baring glistening fangs. "That was my dinner!"

"I know him."

"Pfft," she sneered, anger lacing her voice like venom, "I'm sure you know a lot of humans around here, we're in _Washington_. Or hadn't you noticed?"

Blood painted her thoughts red, and the idea of being denied it was _infuriating_. I eyed her sternly, making it clear that I would not allow this, until she threw up her arms.

"Oh, fine! I'll hunt further out. I'll just have to settle for more stinking fish. UGH! I swear, Cullen, if you carry on with this 'no humans' crap any longer I'm going to take a bite out of _you_ next. We'll see if you object as much after that!"

With a viper-like flick of her tail she pushed past me, her emerald scales flashing as she fled into the murk. She thought hunting animals was a waste of time, I knew, but I wished she'd consider the alternative herself, or at the very least not begrudge me for my own choice.

"Mike?" another voice called above, "Mike?"

Through the rippling water I could just about make out Tyler's worried face as he dashed up to Mike, who now leant over the rocks, searching the dark waters desperately.

"Mike? Whoa, what's the matter with you?"

He turned to his friend, eyes dazzled. "I've just seen an Angel…"

"An Angel, huh?" The other boy watched Mike warily. "_Okay_, somebodies had enough to drink." Tyler hauled him off the ground then with an amused smile. "Such a lightweight," he sighed, shaking his head, "only had two, how am I going to explain this to his parents…"

"What's going on?" another voice said, as Tyler towed Mike away from the shore.

A boy I knew vaguely from Forks High School joined the pair and helped Tyler to tow Mike away with a worried frown. I thought his name was Austin.

"Mike's wasted," Tyler chuckled, "dude can't handle his beer, thinks he's seen an Angel."

"She was _sooo_ beautiful," Mike muttered dreamily as he sagged into Tyler's side.

"Err, are you sure he's just been drinking?" Austin laughed, a little nervously, "Sounds like he's high to me."

"Come on, Romeo," Tyler said, "better not let Jess hear you talking like that."

"We have to get him sobered up before we head back," Austin commented. "The Chief will lock us up if he knows we've been drinking while on the search. I think…"

After that their conversation faded until I could no longer make out the words. When they were far enough away I surfaced and peeked over a nearby rock. Further back on the beach a group was gathered around a make-shift camp-fire. They were all covered in woolly hats and coats and gloves as they shivered to keep warm. Had the temperature grown so cold? I barely noticed. Their fire glowed with an oddly bluish hue… I had seen that before, the first time I had come to First Beach. Jacob had shown me… Oh! As I looked around I realised why this area looked so familiar, why my old school-friends were wandering its shores.

This was First Beach. I was at La Push.

I was home!

I was _home_…

That knowledge, as comforting as it would once have been, lanced deep in my gut, sending queasy chills quivering through my stomach and up along my spine.

_Washington_, Riana had said we were in Washington. How had we travelled this far? How had I not realised? …How had Riana? My anger spiked and suddenly I was fuming.

With little thought to propel my flight I dived into the surf, tracking her. It did not take long to find her, not with our speed, and reaching out I grabbed her tail and roughly yanked her to a halt. Twisting around with an enraged hiss, she bared her teeth, but I spoke first.

"I thought you said we'd be hunting further south! You said that we wouldn't hunt anywhere near my home! I could have killed my friends! As it was _you_ nearly did!"

She held up her hands. "Whoa, easy there, tiger-shark," she said, suddenly uneasy, "Mara sent me here, to conduct a little reconnaissance mission, and I thought I may as well kill two birds with one stone and combine it with your hunting trip."

I frowned. "What kind of reconnaissance mission?"

Riana breathed slowly, controlling her temper. "Mara wants to check out these Quileute shape-shifters. She's been thinking about them a lot since she saw them in your thoughts, but she knew about them before that. Mermaids have crossed paths with them in the past and apparently we have some… err… _history_ with the wolves."

This was new. "What kind of history?"

"Well, well, you're all questions today."

"_Riana._"

"Alright, in the past, some mermaids had a run in with the shape-shifters at First Beach. Nothing awful, no blood was spilt, at least not on our side, but she wants to know what kind of threat level they pose… and whether or not we should cordon off this area of the ocean, you know, to restrict human-hunting in this region."

This was a good thing, restricting hunting up here… but the idea left me hollow. No mermaids would be allowed access to the North and Forks. None at all – that meant me too.

It wasn't like I could do anything except watch the people I loved from a distance, so this potential new rule should make no difference for me. In fact, the further away I was, the safer the people of Forks would be. I guess it was the proximity that mattered. The effect was like a drug; now that I knew where we were I was suddenly very anxious _not_ to leave. I wanted to roam, explore the area. The longer I was here the more likely it would be that I would see…

And I clamped the thought tightly shut right there.

This was not healthy – for me _or_ for Riana for that matter.

What would any one member of the pack or coven do if they came across either one of us in the area? The resulting fallout would probably not be pretty. The idea alone should have sent me skittering into the deep; instead it had me surfacing to scan the shore more ardently.

Above seagulls cawed, and the gentle swish of lapping water added to the serenity.

With a small splash, Riana appeared beside me to watch the beach as well. We were further away now, quite far out to sea, but the blue fire still blazed. People crouched around it, one fed it a stick. I scanned further, following the dappled grey shale shore south. No people populated the beaches down there, and at one there was only one lone R.V.

"C'mon, Bella," Riana grasped my hand firmly. I knew she sensed my longing. "There's nothing to see today, looks like the wolves are sleeping. I'm taking you back."

I would have protested but I didn't want to show how badly I wanted to stay here. If left alone, I would idly drift up and down the expanse of the coast, uncaring, simply hoping for one glimpse of wolf-pelt in the bushes or a flash of marble-white amongst the trees. I would haunt these shores like a ghost. Not a good idea. So instead, I allowed Riana to pull me away.

…

Mara made it official when we got back. After speaking with Riana she decided that, instead of the initial caution on which she had debated, we would now _focus_ our activities along the Northern coast. The theory was that the more of us that surveyed the area, the more likely we were to encounter our supernatural targets – These targets were of both the werewolf and vampire kind. Mara wasn't picky; she was interested in news of both.

The one bright spark in the sudden turmoil of my mind was that she had instructed none of us to engage our targets. The moment we spotted one of them we were to either: 1.) Pursue our quarry at a distance if unseen and gather what details we could, or, 2.) If seen, return to the colony immediately and report back our findings.

I didn't know if I'd be able to comply with the second command easily. If I saw anyone I knew I would freeze like a rabbit in head-lights. In situations that involved fight or flight, I was always froze like a popsicle. Logical I know, but who can fight instinct?

"The wolves," Tara clicked, "can you believe it? We might actually get to see them!"

"I know," Fi grinned. "And vampires! Our blood-drinking cousins, I want to see them!"

As my sisters chatted and chirped around me, practically giddy at the prospect of such excitement, one thought became clear to me: Soon I would see the Pack and the Cullens.

And I didn't know if that was a good thing.

…

**The next chapter was one of my favourite to write. Stuff happens! Serious 'Edward and Bella' stuff that's been a while coming… **


	16. Chapter 16 - Opportunity Calls

**WARNING: Limited blood and violence ahead. Likely I'm being paranoid. **

**Note: for those of you confused about Bella's action, you have to remember that at this point she is under the mermaids' mental influence. And it's quite strong. **

**Thanks again for reading, and thank you to all those who took the time to send some wonderful words of encouragement. Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 16: Opportunity Calls – BPOV

Mara must have sensed my turmoil, because after she delivered her edict – that all of us were to watch the northern coastline for any signs of werewolves or vampires – she immediately assigned me a guard. I was to only travel outside of the colony with Riana and Lilith in tow.

This was a good and a bad thing.

It meant that I could still go on surveillance trips too, but I would be watched. Riana was good company, she had always been, but I found Lilith a little hard to deal with at times. She was cold and cruel in a way only long-term mermaids could be. And she was more interested in hunting humans than Riana was. On our third trip out was when it turned bad.

We had been surveying the coastline along the shores of Washington State looking for werewolves and vampires, a good nine miles from La Push, when Lilith spotted her prey.

"Dinner time," she cooed.

Some unfortunate businessman had a flat tyre on the nearby road. He was middle-aged and wore a grey suit, and he was alone. The situation reminded me uneasily of my own, I had been in almost the same predicament when I had fallen victim to their act. And now the tables had turned and I would be the one leading an unsuspecting passer-by to death at the water's edge. The only difference here was that this male wouldn't live beyond the attack. Lilith would strip his flesh to the bone.

All this I heard in her thoughts and suddenly I felt very sick.

"So," Lilith said, considering me closely, "who's going to play the damsel in distress?"

It wasn't really a question, the way she looked at me said as much.

"The rookie should sit out this round," Riana said, saving me, "let her observe. It is her first blood-hunt after all."

Lilith shrugged, unbothered either way.

"How are we going to play this?" she said, "Will it be the lonely crying girl, the injured damsel, or my personal favourite – the seductive temptress?"

Lilith purred the last three words which made them all the more disturbing. She considered him a while, from a distance, pursing her lips before deciding.

"I think the crying girl. He strikes me as the potential knight-in-shining-armour type."

That only meant that he was a good man! I glanced out from our hidden little alcove of half-submerged rocks and watched him closely. He was younger than I had first thought, with little lines at the corners of his lips that only came from a great deal of smiling. He looked to be a happy person, kind. He could be a brother, a husband, a father…

And Lilith planned to tear him to bloody shreds. Suddenly my eyes stung, prickling uncomfortable.

"Riana," I began.

"Oh, shut her up," Lilith barked, irritated. "If she's going to be a problem take her behind that rock and keep her quiet. I need space to work my magic."

Riana baulked. "I'm not leaving you with the prey or I'll never get my share!"

Their bickering devolved into snapping and snarling. And while their silent battle waged, the man finished fitting the tyre and brushed down his jacket, smearing it with oily black smudges – done. A vicious little spark of – what is it called when you delight in someone else's misfortune? Oh yes – _triumph_ ignited in my chest. The prey was getting away. I was quite happy to say nothing, leaving them oblivious to their loss as they argued.

The start of his engine caught their attention and just as suddenly Lilith _screeched_.

Shock dominated as Riana and I looked to her, and over in his car the man's head snapped up, like a fox to the hunting horn. It only took a second more and he was clambering out of his car frantically looking about. "Hello? …HELLO?!" he called.

_No_, my mind screamed, _no, No, NO!_

Riana yanked me behind the rock and out of sight as Lilith slithered forward, dragging herself onto the sand as if injured. Riana shoved me so hard my head splashed into the tide. Coughing and spluttering from the unexpected submergence, I spun around to spit profanities at her. Or at least that was my intention, when my face found hers she was frantically shushing me. I grumbled inanely, while raking sodden tresses back from my face.

"Oh my God," the man called, "are you alright? …miss?"

The arms that held Lilith up shook and she collapsed, falling onto the gravelly sand. By that point the poor man was already rushing to her side, calling out.

"…miss? …MISS?!"

Lilith had said she needed space to work her magic? Magic was not what I would have called it. It was gruesome to watch, the way she played on his sympathies. She took full advantage of a good-natured man. But what scared me the most was that, while I didn't partake in the hunt or help either of my sisters, I didn't lift a finger to stop it either, knowing well that it was too late. This scenario could only end one-way, with this man's grisly death.

His shiny shoes slipped and slid as he scrambled closer, clumsy in his haste, and as he reached her side he fell to his knees. That was when she looked up, snaring him with her bedazzling predator's gaze. "Oh…" he gasped, so faintly.

In the end I did not watch.

Hiding behind the rocks like a coward, I clamped both hands over my ears to block out the screams. I still heard them. I spent most of my concentration focussing on Riana and blocking out the grizzly telepathy projecting hard and fast at both of us. For the most part it worked, but I still caught some of it. It was inevitable. Most obvious was the sick enjoyment Lilith was experiencing from her victim's pain. _She reminds me of Jane_, I thought.

Riana's eyes glazed over as she watched, the black irises darkening with hunger.

After a long time, Riana finally spoke up.

"Done," she murmured, her eyes never leaving the shore.

Her hands left a set of stinging red welts on my arms; she must have held on hard. Without further ado she swam out from our hiding place and I was left to follow.

The water around Lilith was misted scarlet. And she herself looked like a grinning Carrie on prom night – decorated in red.

"You didn't need to be quite so… brutal." Riana gestured about at the carnage.

"Worried for the newbie's sake?" Lilith sneered.

Blood was painted across half her normally beatific face, showing her as the monster she truly was.

"Hardly," Riana said, "You wasted a lot of blood with your antics."

I had to agree with that, even Lilith's blond hair was stained an eerie magenta. Globs of red congealed within it. I gulped, swallowing bile.

"You look nauseous, Bella," Riana commented, truly puzzled.

It was the smell, among other things… In her thoughts there was nothing but confusion. She knew of my preference for non-human hunting, but she genuinely thought that once I participated in a hunt I would change my mind. She did not understand how I could not.

"I'm fine," I said. "It isn't the first time I've known people to live on blood."

But it _was _the first time I had seen it done. I was never invited along on hunts with the Cullen's. Even if I had been, I doubted that I would have seen anything too traumatising, they were just too quick. Plus, Edward returned from his hunts without so much as a drop of blood to stain his clothing. If Lilith wore clothes there was no doubt they would be drenched.

"But, of course, your vampire is a blood-drinker," Riana remembered.

"Then perhaps _now_ the two of you will be better suited." Lilith's following laugh was low and cruel but eerily beautiful. Riana soon joined her.

It was their nature and I wouldn't hold it against them. They didn't comprehend the love I held for Edward, it was alien to them, as were all emotions. Mara said that mermaids were inherently cruel; they lost the compassionate side of their humanity when they turned.

I wondered why I felt like I still had mine.

"Alright, grubs up." Riana swished her tail, stirring the waters, "C'mon, Bella."

"I'm not hungry," I mumbled, and my voice was oddly tinny and thin.

"Lightweight," Lilith spat nastily, "More for us."

The one mercy they gave me was the quick removal of the body. They hauled the corpse away between them and their thoughts told me that they planned to feast in the next bay, away from the grubby killing site.

"Hey, Lil," Riana said cheerfully as they towed the remains away. "We're supposed to take some of this back to the Colony, you know. Don't go and pig-out."

"Pig-out!" Lilith objected. "I'm not the one who ate a whole shoal of herring at lunch!"

Their bickering voices trailed away into the distance as I remained rooted to the spot, balancing on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I felt it important that I make no sudden moves; if I did I would either vomit or collapse into inconsolable sobs. Neither option was viable. There was no one to comfort me, no way to rectify the situation… and if either of the heartless sea-devils splashing in the next bay heard my train of thought I'd receive a sharp slap. Lilith already thought I was weak and I had the very distinct feeling that Riana was only one step behind her in that assumption. Her patience was reaching its limit.

In the animal kingdom, any animal with a perceived weakness was targeted and destroyed; even by members of said animal's own kind. And we were nothing if not animals – Predatory pack animals. I had to hold it together. I had to be stronger than this if I was to survive this hellish life, if I was going to make my way back to Edward. However dim that future seemed now, it was still the one I held onto, the one shining light on my horizon.

I skirted away from the scarlet pool and slowly made my way up to the rocky shore, where I carefully pulled myself into the shallows and sat in the sand. Lilith had made a mess. There wasn't much now on the beach, but what remained left little to the imagination. It wasn't hard to picture a truly horrific attack to match this scene. Bloody clods of sand spread out in all directions, the red seeping out further than I thought possible. Scraps of clothing, a shredded tie, even one of the poor man's shoes…

Lilith was destructive. The epitome of cruelty; a truly…

Wait, was that…? Oh!

A phone.

Just above the tideline it lay on the sand. I stared at the innocuous, black device for a long moment, possibilities I should never even consider forming in my mind.

_What if I dialled?_

_Just to see if he was okay…_

_What harm could it do?_

None

_It's not like I could have a conversation_, I told myself. Even if I could talk I wasn't sure if I could form words, but maybe I didn't have to. Just hearing _them_ talk would be enough.

One call…

A very real fear had been circling in the back of my mind since the day I was taken, a fear that I couldn't give full attention to for its crippling possibility. Muted mermaid emotions aside there was one sure thing that would lead to my total and utter ruin – Edward's destruction. I had been gone a long time now, with no word. I couldn't be sure how long precisely but long enough… to be considered dead. It was a hard truth but I had to admit it, then I had to go one step further. I knew very well what my death would mean for him, and exactly what he would do. One plane ticket to Italy would be all he wanted after that.

Cringing, I tried to push those thoughts aside, but they had already taken root. There was no way I could know if he'd already done it of course, but in my heart I hoped I would know somehow, someway. There was the added advantage of him being in close quarters to Alice this time; who would see him decide – and his brothers; who would restrain him. Or so I hoped. Everything I had balanced on blind hope and assumptions.

I had to be sure.

Checking the coast was clear, I scanned around. No one was in sight and I could hear Riana and Lilith cackling in the distance. If I was going to do this it had to be now. I wouldn't have long before they would swim back to check on me.

Without allowing myself further thought I reached out and snatched the satellite phone. It was sleek, black and quite new in design, so new that it took a while to work out how to use it – not being a technologically savvy being. It was getting wet too and slipped in my grip like a bar of soap. I worried that it was one of those phones that relied on temperature to work the touch-screen… my fingers were freezing, _and_ trembling.

Luckily, by the mercy of some fate or other, the phone co-operated, and after three tries I managed to type in the number I had revised by heart.

My finger trembled for an indeterminate second over the call icon. My thoughts were a tangled, frightened mess. Something in them warned against this, urged me not to – but the notion felt foreign. I shook my head to clear it. I didn't really know what I was doing, I just wanted to hear a familiar voice, _any _voice, it didn't matter whose. Actually I was lying, it did matter. I knew whose voice I wanted to hear, but I didn't want to think too long on that and face the crushing disappointment that could accompany this impulsive act.

My eyes squeezed shut as my finger jabbed forward.

I almost dropped the phone into the sea in fright. I hadn't consciously commanded my finger to move. _Best set the phone down then_, a safe distance from my unstable grip. Shaking, I placed it on the rocks beside me.

I waited anxiously as it rang, perching my arms up on the rock edge and listening.

_Should it take this long? How many rings was that?_

Around me the tide swished and ebbed and I twisted my fingers as someone picked up the other end of the line. I leaned forward with bated breath.

"Cullen Residence," they said.

Carlisle

I could have sobbed. Somehow, I retained my composure with a strangled grimace.

"Hello?" he continued and paused.

It was unbelievably calming to hear his voice, a balm to my frayed nerves. I smiled sadly to myself. It was a comfort and a discomfort at once. An odd strain pulled at my heart.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

I didn't know what to do, so I just leaned my face against the cool rock beside the phone and listened to his voice. _Might as well enjoy the moment_… I vaguely realised that this may be slightly strange, possibly stalkerish behaviour – calling someone and not responding, just breathing at the other end of the line – and I vaguely realised that I just didn't care.

"Hello?"

I knew he probably wouldn't speak much longer, gaining no response he would soon hang up, but he surprised me.

"I can hear background noise. Who's there?"

He didn't sound annoyed just polite. That was Carlisle, always polite.

His next tentative words made me jump, "…Bella? Isabella, is that y-"

Cut short, static buzzed, and another voice replaced his. "Bella!?" Edward's voice was almost angry but the undertone said it all: he was very upset, and desperate.

_Edward. Fine. No. Italy. Here. Now_.

Words, apparently only the key ones, plummeted through me on a landslide, gaining momentum and strength. The knowledge that he was in Forks, now, with his family, that he was _okay_, left me shaking with relief. And Mara said that mermaids didn't feel!

I ran shaking hands through my hair, gripping it in an attempt not to sob. I did take one shaky breath, attempting to calm myself.

"Bella, I can hear you. Are you hurt? Where are you?"

That made me frown – _He could hear me?_ I hadn't said a word.

I sighed, remembering exactly that – I _couldn't_ say a word. Even if I tried to get a message to him I could not speak. Paper disintegrated in water, and tide washed sand clean.

"I know that sigh, Bella, believe me," he said with a strained laugh. "I could recognise it in a crowded room."

I still couldn't say a word above water. I could _shriek_, but shrieks really didn't count as words. And I was quite sure that that would alarm him rather than alleviate his fears.

After a pause, he tried more tentatively, "_Can_ you speak?"

I almost laughed. _Well, how was I supposed to answer that if the answer was 'No'?_ Still, his perceptiveness was unerringly accurate.

"…Okay, let's try something… I'll ask a question, you tap once for yes and twice for no. Do you understand?"

I paused uncertainly. Maybe I should just hang-up. I hadn't confirmed who I was after all, I still had a window of escape, one that every fibre of my being screamed against using.

_No good can come of this_, a voice in my mind whispered – it sounded like Mara's.

What had I been thinking? That's right, I _hadn't_ been thinking. I was still refusing to think about how this would affect everyone. But I was being selfish, as mermaids were inclined to be, and not wanting to give up my newly acquired lifeline, I complied.

Glancing around, I retrieved a fist-sized rock and hit it lightly against the side. Not _too_ close to the phone. I didn't trust my klutziness in close proximity to sensitive devices.

The crack it made echoed loudly and I flinched, glancing around. No one was watching, and I could still hear the others playing in the next cove. It sounded like they were in the midst of a splash war. Still, my anxiety was soaring at a whole new level right now.

The relief in Edward's sigh was audible and I could imagine the crooked smile that would grace his face as he ran fingers through tangled bronze hair.

"Okay, just to be sure. Are your eyes blue?"

I rolled my eyes and knocked twice. No.

There was more than one gasp of relief over the line. A captive audience listened on the other end. I smiled as I heard them chatter excitedly, I wanted to join their jubilation.

"Where are you?" Edward sounded frantic now… but that wasn't a yes or no question. This was going to be a very one-sided conversation.

I briefly regretted the fact that I hadn't taken the opportunity to learn Morse-code while I had the chance. I wasn't even sure how to do S-O-S.

"I hear water," a voice added in the background, it sounded like Jasper's.

Becoming more excited than I should have let myself be, I banged the rock once again.

"Yes! That's a Yes!" Alice trilled and I wanted to laugh but didn't know how to without frightening them.

_Worrying about scaring vampires, what has my life come to? _

"Are you trapped somewhere?" Edward asked.

We were heading into trickier territory now; still, I tapped the rock twice.

"That's a no. Jasper?" Carlisle said. It sounded like an inquiry

"Already tracking the number, Carlisle."

That made me start; they could be here in a matter of minutes. The first dregs of despair started to surface. I couldn't be here when they found this phone… could I?

"So, water," Edward continued. "That sounds like seagulls… and waves, you're along the coast." It wasn't a question, but I knocked the rock obligingly again. _Yes_.

It sounded like he cursed, and muttered, "The one day I leave the bay unguarded…" Louder, he said, "Are you near the place where you went missing?"

I wasn't too sure, but even if I was I knew he'd be out the door the instant I answered. So I didn't. There was silence on both ends of the line.

I thought I heard a mumbled, "Keep her talking."

"Bella? …Are you hurt?"

I wasn't exactly okay, but I wasn't wounded. Knowing I couldn't leave _that_ question unanswered I knocked once, then again, in a way I hope conveyed uncertainty.

There was muttering away from the phone that I could not discern.

Edward soon came back, "What's happened? You were attacked."

Again, not a question – One knock, a yes.

He paused, audibly steeling himself, "Vampire?"

Two quick knocks, no.

"Human?"

Two knocks. Everyone was suddenly silent, stonily silent.

Edwards's voice was a menacing growl, "I'm going to kill those Wolves."

"That makes sense," Alice said, "Since I can't see her."

"I should have known."

"We can't be sure, Edward," Carlisle implored.

"Who else could it be, Carlisle? Not Vampire, not human… the Wolves are the only ones left-"

They started to argue.

"The treaty! They wouldn't-" Esme objected, "Jacob would never allow it-"

"I'm not so sure he wouldn't just-"

"Sam wouldn't have given the order," Jasper said.

"Or Seth," Emmett added. "Think of that little guy, he likes Edward and Bella!"

"But why would they?" Carlisle asked. "What provocation?"

Edward scoffed. "Do you really need to ask?"

"Wouldn't you have heard it in their thoughts, though, Edward? Surely-"

After a time, I couldn't distinguish one voice from another. They blurred together and I panicked – _they were blaming the wolves_. The wolves had nothing to do with this!

I frantically banged my rock but no one seemed to pay attention.

"QUIET," Carlisle shouted.

I was so shocked I went quiet too. I'd never heard him shout before. It was the closest I had ever heard him to sounding like a real vampire, and it was frightening.

"Bella?" Esme tentatively ventured.

One knock. Yes.

"Did the wolves hurt you?"

Two knocks. No.

"Are the wolves involved in this in any way?"

Two knocks.

"No humans, vampires or werewolves. What's that supposed to mean?" Emmett didn't sound amused for once.

"Got it," I heard Jasper say in the background. "She's on the coast, along the I101, just north of the Kalaloch Campground."

"Bella, I'm coming to get you right now. Stay there." Edward sounded so desperate.

Before I could even think of answering, Riana shrieked my name from the next cove, and while all I heard was 'Bella?' what everyone else heard was an unearthly screech.

"What the Hell was that?" Emmett deadpanned.

I banged the rock twice, trying to convey my need for them to _stay away_. Then flipped the phone shut to stop the call and dropped it onto the sand.

I stared at it for a full minute, shakily pressing fingers to my ice-cold lips. _Shock_, I tried to gather my thoughts together, _I'm in shock_… _What have I just done?_

"Bella, are you okay?" Riana's whine was quieter now, more tentative as she flitted up before me. "I know that must have seemed barbaric, Lilith sometimes gets carried away and I didn't think to-"

She moved closer and spotted the phone before I could think to hide it.

She stared at it, her features a blank slate, wiped clean. What was she thinking right now? I looked back at the phone in a weak attempt to hide my rising guilt. The phone lay lifeless; it appeared so inanimate and innocent, much like the snake that had originally offered Eve the apple in the Garden of Eden. Temptation was a hard thing to live with.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, with surprising empathy, "I've thought about it myself in the past… but don't ring. It won't end well, for anyone."

Stunned, I turned to regard her. She looked so… regretful. In that moment I realised that she was not as callous as she pretended to be, the cruelty was a façade. Perhaps I was not the only one to cling to my human sensibilities.

"Come on." She reached out a hand to me. "I think it is best we head home."

_Home_… home is where the heart is. But where did my heart lie? It felt torn, pulled in two directions.

"Bella…" she prompted, brow crumpling.

_Should I stay, or should I go? Stay, go, stay, go… _

As I stared, Riana's hand never wavered in front of me, an open invite. I glanced back once at the phone. How long would it take him to run? Not long, I knew. Edward was _fast_.

_Stay or go… stay… or go…_

…


	17. Chapter 17 - Red Shores

**WARNING: More blood ahead… **

**Thanks for reading, and to all who sent such encouraging messages. Seriously, you guys prompt me to keep writing. Nemma. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 17: Red Shores – JPOV

_Jake? _

The familiar voice echoed in his head as Jake sat on his haunches, watching out across the ocean at the lapping blue waves. They were so pristine today, like sparkling diamonds. Bella would have loved them.

_Hey, Leah,_ he sighed as he turned to greet her,_ did Sam send you?_

_No…_

The shadows stroked her silver-grey coat as she slunk from the bracken. And with a few strides she joined him on the cliff's precipice. There was hesitation in her thoughts.

_What's up?_ Jake asked.

She huffed. _It's just… Sam said it was nothing but it's stuck in my mind…_

If she had been human, she would have been frowning. And as she paused, debating her choice of words, an image of Bella flashed through her mind, making Jacob's back stiffen.

_What is it, Leah? If you know something spit it out._

Leah paused, wondering if any of the other wolves were listening. Those that were phased were occupied with their own little worlds: Quil was watching a giggling Claire as she played with a spade in a sand-pit, Paul was tracking the boundary lines looking for new scents, and Collin was slowly stalking a hissing raccoon. No one was listening to her.

_It might be nothing at all_,she warned, trying to convey the need for him to _not_ get his hopes up. _Do you remember those scales I saw on the shore where Bella went missing?_

He had to think for a moment. _Yes, the fish-scales… _

_Well, they were odd. They were too big for one thing; the small fry on our shores don't usually have scales of that size._

_They looked normal to me._ Jake frowned, not knowing where she was going with this.

_Maybe to you, but trust me they're not. I know what I'm talking about._

_What about shark scales?_

_Sharks don't have scales – they're all skin._

_Okay. How would you know about scales and what size they should be, anyway?_

A wave of sadness rolled through her. _My dad, Harry used to take me and Seth fishing, remember? Unlike Seth, I actually listened when he lectured us about bait and lures. _

_Oh, yeah, _Jake muttered lamely, now feeling incredibly awkward. He was no good with girl emotions, particularly hers. _But I don't see what this has to do with anything, Leah._

_They had no scent_, she said bluntly. _Fish don't have _no_ scent. It's just not possible. In fact, sometimes they almost smell as bad as the leeches! It's just weird and there was no scent in the bay where Bella was taken… it stuck in my mind… then I remembered something my dad told me when I was little. Along with the stories of the Cold Ones, there are other myths in our history, you know – some that are even older, that only our elders know. _

Jake tried to think of any that were specifically important, but he came up blank.

Leah sighed, hearing his confusion. _There is one; it's more obscure than the others. It's been over-shadowed since our tribe has had more run-ins with the Cold Ones in the last century than ever before. But there are records of _other_ hunters that the wolves are meant to protect our people from. Ones that come from the sea… _

Jake straightened, really paying attention to her now. _Go on._

…

_Edward! _Jake shouted through his mind as he and Leah ran towards the parked R.V. _Heads-up, we might have something!_

There was no flash of white as he had expected, no blazing-eyed vampire demanding to hear every detail he had acquired NOW! There was nothing. Tool-box packed away, windows shut, doors sealed. And as they reached the vehicle there were no sounds within, or in the surrounding bay. That was odd; he hadn't left since the R.V. arrived.

_Huh,_ Leah sniffed at the pebbly ground, _maybe he needed to hunt?_

Jake sniffed. _There's a fresh trail heading east. He must have returned to their house…_

Following his sickly sweet scent through the bracken, Jacob thought over what Leah had discovered. It was disturbing to say the least. And it was something he was sure Billy had never covered with him – which was strange as Billy had practically pummelled those horror stories about the Cold-Ones into his head when he was a child. But he had never heard of this. Perhaps Billy did not know, perhaps only Harry had. And if Leah hadn't remembered…

_We're getting close now, aren't we? _Leah said. _The stench is getting stronger._

She snorted, trying to clear the burning-cold reek from her nostrils.

_Yeah, we are. They live just over the river._

He and Leah vaulted the rushing water and landed on their back lawn. Ahead, the house was lit up like a Christmas tree – all glass windows and yellow lights.

_Yo! Blood-sucker! _Jake yelled. _Are you there? We-_

Edward appeared before them with a face like thunder.

Leah barked in surprise. _What the-_

Just as swiftly he disappeared behind them, vanishing into the forest.

_Okay… _Leah said, _what was-_

Six more Cullens flashed by in his wake, leaving trees vibrating and leaves rustling.

It didn't take another second and Leah and Jake were darting into the foliage at lightning speed, following their paths. There was no scent, no trail, they weren't tracking.

And this reminded Jake horribly of what he'd seen that first day through Seth's eyes.

Leah barked to Esme as she gained on her, but with a blank-faced glance back she only said one word: "Bella."

_Of course…_

Jake picked up speed, driving himself so hard that clods of dirt ripped up out of the ground. He passed one vampire, then another, too focussed on his feet and the path ahead to check out which ones they were. But no matter how hard he tried to catch up to Edward, he couldn't. Damn that leech was fast. As soon as he caught a glimpse of his whipping bronze hair between the trees, he was gone again. Even Leah couldn't catch up.

On some level he knew that should be terrifying, but at the moment he just didn't care.

_Jake! Leah! _Sam's voice suddenly boomed in his ears.

Only then did he realise that Sam had been trying to talk to him for some time. He vaguely noted Quil and Embry's inquisitive thoughts alongside his.

_The Cullen's have something, _Leah called back, _and we're following them west! I think it's about Bella. They only run this way when… _

Thankfully, she took over explanations and Jacob was left to focus.

Ahead, there was a shattering crash, and as splinters and leaf-pulp sprayed around him, Jake faintly realised that Edward must have smashed right through a tree.

_Not one to let anything stand in his way, is he?_ Quil quietly muttered, _even vegetation_.

Sam was following them at a distance, with Embry in tow. He had sent Quil back to La Push and Claire, to warn the others that something was happening, whatever it was…

A shaft of light pierced the forest ahead as Edward tore through the trees and out onto a pebbly beach.

_Not the same! Please don't be the same beach_, Jake thought.

This was all starting to look far too familiar. He followed Edward through the gap. Luckily it was overcast, the clouds covering the worst of the sun and stopping Edward's skin from sparkling but still, for a second, it blinded.

"NO!" Edward screamed.

And in that instant, Jake's gut lurched. No? Why 'no'?! He couldn't mean…

Cullens flashed to a stand-still around him as he blinked the blind-spots away. There was no Bella on the shore, there was no body. For a second he felt relief, but only for a second. Then he saw. Nothing in their panoramic view was amiss: fluffy clouds scooted overhead, pebbles delicately clinked underfoot, trees swayed, birds called, and the water sloshed benignly at Edward's feet.

But it wasn't right.

The colours were all wrong.

Because everything was painted red… the water, the rocks and the ground, for a good twenty feet in all directions, were laced with dripping scarlet.

Beside him, Leah skidded to a halt and stilled, her thoughts silenced.

After a long, horrifying, frozen second, Jasper darted away into the woods with Alice close behind. For one bizarre moment, Jacob thought he was going to throw up… then he remembered what a hard time that one was supposed to have with blood. Bella had told him once…

"Dear God…" Carlisle muttered, gaping at the carnage.

And carnage was the only true word for it. Blood and gore and entrails smattered the shore in all directions. It… it was an animal's carcass, right? That wasn't human Jake was smelling. It couldn't be. He didn't see a lone shoe, a shredded tie…

_Edward… _Jake coaxed, his thoughts shaky, _Edward_…

No response. It was like he'd turned off, unable to process what he saw.

_EDWARD! _

Terror was really starting to take control now, winding around his mid-section and constricting like a snake, tighter and tighter and-

_EDWARD, WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED?!_

Just in case the telepathy wasn't getting through, he snarled and snapped at his feet. Edward didn't even seem to notice. The man was a true statue of stone.

Leah was the first to break, she whined, stepping back.

_Whatever did this… Jake, we shouldn't be here alone…_

_Agreed_, Sam's voice suddenly chimed in, _fall back you two. This is worse than we thought. If a vampire-_

_This is no vampire kill_, Jake thought. _They're never this messy_.

_And, besides the humans', there's no scent, _Leah thought, _again_.

_EDWARD! _Jacob practically yelled, and striding closer he head-butted him in the back.

"Hey!" the big one, Emmett, was suddenly in his face. "Touch my brother again, wolf, and you'll be limping home with one less leg."

"Emmett," Edward's voice was barely audible, "don't…"

His muscled beast of a brother stepped back when Edward laid a hand on his arm, but his fists continued to clench and unclench at his sides. Behind him, Rosalie looked white, whiter than any vampire he'd ever seen, and Carlisle and Esme still gaped at the horror around them. Everyone's nerves hung on a knife edge, including his.

_Please_, Jacob begged, _what happened?_

Edward swallowed, hard. "There was a call, it was her. She didn't speak but… I just knew…" His voice was tinny and tight, nothing like the melodic tone he usually adopted, "Jasper tracked the call, we… we got a location… _this_ location. Just before we could set out there was a shriek in the background and Bella hung up… so we ran… here…"

Here… to where the waters ran red…

"Who is that?" Emmett gestured to the pieces of… stuff… lying around.

Breaking his stance, Carlisle moved closer. "It's human, not a whole one, not by far, but from the scent of the blood I'd say male, early forties."

"Not Bella then," Esme burst out and everyone looked at her. "I'm sorry; I wouldn't dare breathe, just in case the scent was…"

Leah moved to snuffle near a cluster of rocks. _More scales_, she thought, _scentless_…

Carlisle straightened, looking hard at Edward. "We need to leave this place, now."

_But what about the human? _Leah said, weakly. _What if he's still alive somewhere?_

"Leah," Edward answered, "he most definitely is not alive, not with this amount of blood, not to mention other things, he's lost."

Carlisle was suddenly grabbing the arms of both of his remaining sons.

"We leave here now. Rosalie, take Esme. Jacob, Leah, please follow us."

No one seemed to be able to do anything but comply, and a short while later they were all gathered in a small forest clearing a good mile away from the shore, with Sam and Embry at their sides. Once there, Jacob had to phase back. The sense of danger was nearly overwhelming him, screaming at him to protect, but protect against what? They saw nothing, and he had to know – he had to know why they had found what they had.

"Edward," he growled as he strode to his side, "are you _sure_ it was her that called?"

Faintly, he whispered, "I'm sure."

Jake's heart pounded. "Did you get the right location? What if-"

"Jasper was not wrong."

"I didn't smell her there."

"Neither did we."

Silence, the clearing was utterly still. Everyone too shocked to react, even the vampires, but surely they had seen stuff like this in their pasts, they'd all been newborns and newborns were the notorious bad. What if… the thought threatened to choke him but, as Carlisle and Sam started to discuss what other precautions they could take and how they could keep the humans from the coastline, he felt the need to voice it. So, quietly he muttered it to Edward.

"Has she been _turned_? Is she a vampire?" Silently adding, _Have you kept that from me?_

"No," his response was instant. "No scent, remember, not even a vampire's. And Bella would never have permitted me to keep that from you. We would have left too."

"But," he hated to say it, the words tasted like bile, "you think she did this."

He didn't answer. And that was answer enough.

Jake released a shaky breath. "If she did, then you know that the pack will have no choice. Sam will give the order. I can't protect a monster-"

Dangerous black flashed in Edward's eyes as they snapped up and locked to his own.

"Whatever has happened to her, wherever she is," he seethed, "she is still my Bella. And _she is not a monster_. She never could be, no matter what."

The evidence strewn across the shore strongly suggested otherwise.

Before Jacob could say anything else, a silent Alice and Jasper wandered into the clearing and Carlisle hurried to their sides. He clasped a hand on the scarred male's shoulder, muttering something in their quick vampire speech. Jasper nodded slightly, swallowing hard.

"Jacob, Edward…?" Leah wandered over to them, dressed in ragged shorts and a grass-stained t-shirt. "I think we need to talk now, about what I found."

"What, what did you find?" Edward was instantly focussed, his eyes sharp.

Leah carefully glanced over her shoulder. Sam was occupied with Carlisle, and completely oblivious to whatever his other pack members were doing. Embry was the only one left in wolf form and he was quietly gnawing on a stick – seriously, a stick? As if the vampires didn't give them enough flack, he was giving them ammunition. Not that anyone was in the mood for joking. Leah's sigh drew him back to her, she looked tense and sad.

"Sam would tell me not to tell you until he's discussed it with the tribe elders, but after seeing… what we saw today… I just don't want to keep this secret any longer."

"What is it?" Edward asked.

Black eyes bored into her but she didn't answer, instead she looked to him. "Jake?"

He shrugged. "If you don't tell him, he'll just siphon it from your thoughts."

Permission granted. She faced Edward. "I've been telling Jake about some old legends of ours, some very old legends that have almost been lost to obscurity. They involve a race of supernaturals our tribe encountered long ago, very bloody beings that came from the sea and took our people in a series of successive attacks. The males, they butchered, but the females were taken away. In some cases they were never seen again, but it wasn't always the case." She had Edward's attention now; just as she'd had Jake's when she first recited these words. His eyes blazed. "I remembered the legends from when father spoke of them to me as a child, and as I was curious I went to search the tribe's archives. The myths are still there, and in them we call the creatures '_sjó__söngvarar_', which translated to our modern tongue means-"

"Sea Singers," Edward's voice was flat, "Mermaids."

"Yes," she nodded slowly, watching his expression. "My uncle from the _Cocopo _tribe will know more about them than I do. He did research on the old scrolls when I was little. I rang him a few times but haven't heard back yet. That's no big surprise; he's out at sea a lot. Paul's uncle Balthazar might know something too, I'll ask Paul later."

The black of Edward's eyes seemed to spark. "Leah, if you're elders will permit; I would very much like to read those archives."

_Understatement_, Jake thought, Edward was practically quivering with anticipation.

"You and me both," Jake agreed. "But I don't know if they will allow it. A Cold One, looking at our records, they won't like it, however lenient they might have been recently."

"Old Quil would have a meltdown," Leah huffed, "but if it will help us find out what happened to Bella, and if it will stop… whatever did…" she gulped, trailing into silence.

"We need to know," Edward said firmly. "Jacob, if they will not allow me to see them, you need to get to them yourself. You are part of the tribe, they will allow you."

Zealous, fervent – those were a few words that sprang to mind as Jake watched Edward.

"No need…" Leah said, and she took a deep breath, seeming to brace herself. "Sam will probably flay the fur from my back for this… but I have the scrolls with me."

Very carefully, she pulled a roll of crumpled paper from her short's pocket. For a brief second, Jacob was mortified – had she taken the originals? They were hundreds of year old! She couldn't possibly… Oh, then he realised. They were photocopies.

"Thank you, Leah." Edward stressed as he took the offered papers. "Thank you for this."

She only shrugged. "Yeah, whatever, just…" she glanced back, eyeing the others; no one had picked up on their conversation, "get this sorted. Enough lives have been lost."

…

BPOV – earlier

"Come on." Riana had reached out a hand to me. "I think it is best we head home." But I hesitated, unsure. If I stayed, there was a chance… "Bella…" she prompted, brow crumpling.

Edward was fast, very fast, the fastest of them all and he was running to this beach even now. How long could he possibly take? How long could I wait?

Riana's hand never wavered. My sister had no intention of leaving me.

_Stay or go… stay… or go…_ My mind was in turmoil!

"Come on." She reached out to take hold of my wrist, and as she did that familiar tug in the far corner of my mind began. The one that pulled hard and whispered to me to forget, to think of nothing but blue waters and silky waves, to return to the deep embrace of the sea…

_Go, go-go-go!_

No other word. It was the only command. What was I waiting for? _Why_ was I stalling?

I blinked, shaking my head. _Gah_, what was I doing? Riana wanted to leave.

And so I had taken her offered hand, glancing back only once to the phone as I allowed her to lead me into the deeper waters…

It had been mind-manipulation. Something Mara had taught her and told her to use if, at any point, I appeared to be wavering while out on search-duty. Riana had only rudimentary training in it, and she had apologised profusely afterwards for using it, though by then I felt no need to be annoyed. In her mind she had been worried, afraid that if she did not drive me into the deep I would wallow in the shallows alone and despairing for days. She had acted out of concern and had not delved into my mind for a deeper motivation for my resistance. Why _had_ I wanted to leave the ocean? My sisters were here. And even if Edward had arrived, I could not survive on land. It seemed silly to have wanted it now.

I pondered this all in solitude.

It didn't occur to me until much later in the day – as I lay basking in the last rays of the setting sun on an underwater rock far to the South – that I had left the phone Edward was tracking… right next to the bloody remains of its owner.

It was horribly short-sighted to not even consider the scene they would come across, and how they would react upon seeing it. What would they do? What would they think?

Jasper had so little control sometimes, and to cause him to run headlong towards the red-tinged sands where the businessman fell was beyond cruel. Lilith had been messy and blood covered the area, from the sand and the rocks to the trees twenty metres away.

That it had not been my intent to draw him there did not matter.

I felt wretched… but more at my lack of fore-sight than anything else. When I thought about it, I didn't feel much at all. Not grief over the loss of a nameless stranger, not guilt for allowing his death… Not regret for leading Edward and his family to that grisly scene. I didn't really feel anything.

That was worrying.

Human Bella would have felt all that and more; Human Bella would have been a wreck!

I threw my head back in exasperation, squeezing my eyes shut and rubbing my brow. The only emotion I really had was irritation. And I wasn't even sure that that was an emotion.

Honestly, it seemed like I was becoming more and more desensitised, like the cold-ones of the Quileute's legends: The ones that held no regard for human-life, the ones that killed indiscriminately, just because they could.

I didn't want to be that… I never wanted to be that…

The fervency that would normally accompany that notion was scarily absent. As I assessed my emotional state further I reached a cold, hard conclusion: I just didn't care anymore.

Drawing in a deep breath, I held it, before releasing it slowly. I watched the stream of tiny bubbles, lightly trailing away towards the surface above like flickering crystal orbs.

Perhaps, once Alice's vision had cleared, she had seen the state of the beach. Perhaps she would have stopped Jasper going… Perhaps Edward wouldn't have assumed all kinds of horrible things. I _had_ rang from the phone of a man who had been mutilated beyond belief…

That was a lot of perhaps'.

I had to acknowledge that I wasn't acting like myself, not really. Human Bella would have been more thoughtful, she would have considered the situation much more carefully. More importantly, she would have acted to save that innocent man. But I wasn't Human Bella anymore. Perhaps I had lost a lot more of myself in the transformation process than I had initially thought. Perhaps I was more different than I realised.

Perhaps Human Bella was well and truly lost.

…

***Ducks to avoid flying objects* I know, I know, not what some of you wanted to hear. But hold off throwing the rotten tomatoes for now and trust me, we're heading for bigger things.**

**I'll see what I can do about a double update next week. ****:)**


	18. Chapter 18 - Sightings

**I've gotten some awesome messages. And I really appreciate every follow and fav that blips into my inbox. Thank you all, Nemma. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 18: Sightings – BPOV

"We saw them! We saw them!"

One girl's cry echoed across the walls of the dome and every head snapped to attention. She had shouted in English rather than clickish mermish, which was unusual to say the least, but below the waves it was perfectly audible.

"We saw them! We saw them!"

She darted in random patterns throughout the dome, zigzagging in alternate directions in what seemed to be a blind panic. I tried to concentrate on her thoughts. They were everywhere; a discordant tangled mess of colours and images that made no sense. But I recognised her emotions clearly enough. The girl was not panicking, she was buzzing with excitement.

The mermaid I had come to know as Kiera, who had a pale crimson tail, darted into her path, stopping her short. Kiera grabbed the youngster by both arms, probably to keep her still. The girl was a can of fizzy pop waiting to explode.

"Saw _who_?" Kiera asked calmly.

"The _Wolves_," said another as she darted down into the dome to join her friend. She said this with a reverence that marvelled an awed fan's, "The shape-shifters of First Beach."

"Oh, is that it?" Kiera said with a kindly laugh. Reaching out, she took the excitable child under her arm and steered her away. "Let's get you to Mara. I'm sure she will be thrilled to hear about this. You've done very well, Viola."

A chattering crowd followed the pair away, down one of our numerous tunnels and soon the dome felt empty. I was one of few who remained.

When the mayhem had finally dimmed, Riana leaned into my ear and whispered, "Well, looks like your friends have finally been spotted."

Mara gathered us together later that evening to discuss Viola's sighting. The memory wasn't much to go on; she had been a distance away and had only seen grey and brown fur flash between the trees at a speed too fast to be merely animal. She followed the path the wolf was taking, careful to keep well out of sight, until another wolf showed itself clearly.

Stepping out onto the cliff-ledge the massive bear-like creature had howled to the sky, his cry echoing a deep and resounding pain that cut to the depths of my shallow mermaid soul. Even if I had not known the wolf, I would have recognised the howl anywhere.

The wolf had been russet-brown – Jacob.

I was very careful to keep my thoughts to myself for once.

Riana watched me suspiciously, but said nothing. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was yet to be seen, but at least she left my thoughts untouched.

That was more than could be said for the others.

The following day the wolves were the subject of choice. My memories had been pilfered the day I'd arrived and now they played them on repeat. I constantly watched my life flash before many sets of eyes. It was unhinging. There was never any way I could have kept the vampires and werewolves a secret here, even if I had tried. My weird mental glitch may have kept Edward out, but my sisters worked past it somehow and saw everything, every deep dark secret. And what was more, they didn't really care. Sure the vampires and werewolves were a novelty, but they were no more interesting than the next big film premiere was to the human population. To them, it was all just a passing fad.

Days passed and more sightings arose. After a week of nothing suddenly everyone was seeing the wolves. I felt left out, it was stupid and irrational but I had been out as much as any of the others – _more_ in fact – and I was yet to see Jake or any other pack member. Someone, Danica, had even spotted a vampire! It was hard to tell from her fleeting glimpse but it was either Carlisle or Jasper. Danica had returned home not long after Riana and I… and she had been surveying the same area of coast – _so_ close. At that my frustration peeked. I was about ready to haul myself up to the beach and call out to them, holler my lungs out until someone – vampire or werewolf, I didn't care which – took notice and came to find me.

"Careful," Riana murmured, noting my frustration, "no good can come of it."

Frowning, I ignored her. She had said that before.

All these sightings had spurred a new fad among the mermaids. Sure, they had all heard the legends before of werewolves and vampires – our land-based kin. But very few had ever _seen_ them, and none of those that had were the younger members of the colony – save me and Riana. The mermaids were also well aware that these supernaturals did not pose the same threat that Victoria's Seattle new-borns had. That made them interesting.

"I saw Sam up by Strawberry Bay!" one girl chirped one evening.

"_No_, you didn't!" another shrieked, grinning and bouncing about.

"That's nothing, I saw Emmett up by the I101 combing the coastline!"

Riana and I passed the masses on a near-daily basis now. They flocked in the dome, flooded the tunnels and always, _always_, they were clicking about one supernatural or another.

It was pandemonium; it was vampire-werewolf madness. The mermaids were acting like the Quileutes and the Cullens were freaking celebrities.

I was surprised that no one was printing t-shirts!

As it was, mermaids had already begun to pick their favourites. Surprisingly Paul was among the most popular – he already had his own fan-group. _Paul's Pals_… Riana collapsed into hysterics when she heard that one. "Which freaking tail-chaser thought of _that_?" As for myself I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I pictured Paul's reaction if he heard the news, and my lips twitched up. To be fair the group was mainly composed of 12 year olds.

Our surveillance did not allow for one thing though – the increased hunting activity that was now focused on that one area of coast. Since our attention was in the region surrounding First Beach, our victims were solely from around there, and the mortality rates had risen to noticeable levels. Levels that could not be explained away by drowning's or animal-attacks.

Without realising our mistake we had put ourselves in danger of discovery.

Anonymity was our life preserver.

Mara ordered a cut-back on scouting expeditions as soon as she realised our blunder. There was a collective "Awww" among the girls and all thoughts turned petulant. Mara had to be strict to ensure our safety but she wasn't outright cruel, and she wasn't about to deprive her daughters of their fun, limited as it was being confined to the ocean. So, we were to go in groups now, scheduled and infrequent. The situation wasn't entirely satisfying but still, it gave the avid ones something to look forward to – that included me.

Then came the day when someone brought home information: The Quileutes and the Cullens were to have a meeting. Alone that was enough to send the entire Colony into a tizzy… But combined with what else we knew: Their topic of discussion wasn't clear, but the word 'mermaid' had been mentioned.

Rumour spread quickly, as the informant's memory flitted from mind to mind, buzzing through the hive. Unfortunately it fragmented during passage and I only caught a piece…

_Leah stood on a beach of grey shale beside an R.V. She was speaking to someone, her short ebony hair lifting in the light breeze, but whoever she spoke to was out of sight. _

"…_is limited in the translation," she said. "You have to remember that it is an ancient text. Did you get any further with it?"_

_There was a mumbled response, from someone out of sight, too faint to decipher._

_She nodded, seeming relieved. _

"_That's why they want this meeting. They want to know what you know!"_

_A pause followed, heavy and weighted._

"_Your whole family is invited to attend. The treaty boundaries are going to be lifted. They trust you, now." She paused. "We do not beg, and we rarely ask for help, but in this it would be appreciated. More boys have gone missing in the past three days. It's escalating."_

_Another mumbled reply. _

_Who was she speaking to? The question was universal and no-one seemed to know._

_Leah stepped back, eyebrows high in surprise. "Okay then, Tuesday night, 9 p.m. at First Beach. All of the Elders will be there, and, of course, the Pack."_

The memory ended there. But we had a time and place! …right on the edge of the ocean. The memory caused Mara concern.

She gathered a group of us together; mainly elders but Riana and I were requested as well. We joined her in her room, and there she paced.

"I would like to observe this meet at First Beach, but I will not endanger the lives of my daughters by allowing an entourage of giggling love-smitten teens to go. The situation is too sensitive for that. No, we must be careful, we must be cunning. We have to be devious with our movements; if we are to survey this meeting it has to be by means of cloak and dagger."

"I'll go," Lilith chipped in immediately, ever the daughter to please.

I caught the quick flash of Riana's thoughts before she could supress them: _Kiss ass_.

Luckily, no one else seemed to catch it.

"Kiera," Mara said, "you will lead the group, take: Danica, Riana, Bella, Cathy, Fi and yes you, Lilith. I want to know what they will be discussing at this council meeting but we have to keep this small, contained, or it could turn disastrous. None of you are to engage the targets under any circumstances, and above all you are _not_ to be seen. Is that understood?"

She pinned me with her steely gaze and her meaning was clear. No contact.

"Yes, Mara," we answered in complete unison.

…

**Been to London this weekend and come back with a cold, figures. So this chapter is short but the next will be much longer. Still heading for a double update. Now for some Lemsip… **


	19. Chapter 19 - Crashing the Council Meet

**There are some truly lovely people out there. Thank you all for the reviews/fol/favs. I'm stunned that so many of you like it. I had fun writing this one, so hope you enjoy the chapter, Nemma. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 19: Crashing the Council Meeting – BPOV

What had at first been playful stalking quickly turned into a military operation. If we had been on land I'd have expected to be handed a black balaclava and a sniper rifle.

"_By means of cloak and dagger," _Mara had said, and the sisters listened to her words.

So when the sun set and the sea was coated in darkness, we made our way north: Kiera, Danica, Riana, Cathy, Fi, Lilith and I – just a small group, a reconnaissance group.

A group that would go unseen.

The faint glow of a camp-fire on First Beach came into view more quickly than I had anticipated. We were fast swimmers. And while we had travelled I had been preoccupied…

I would be seeing Edward soon. I hoped. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

_There, behind those rocks_, Kiera dictated, pointing us to a set of serrated black points that jutted from the ocean some eighty yards off the shore. _They will provide sufficient cover_.

We complied, as silently as we could. My stomach was in knots and I allowed my mind to be led by the others.

Ahead I could make out an assortment of figures already roaming the beach, all heading for the open flames of an orange-blue fire. It climbed high into the night sky.

"When are we getting started?" a feminine voice said.

Zeroing in on the speaker I recognised Emily. She stood beside Sam and the flames.

"Just a few more minutes," he said, in a gruff voice. "Sue is bringing Billy down."

More people moved to join them. I saw Embry feeding sticks to the fire and Paul hovering by the treeline. Seth and Leah sat together. No Jake. No vampires, yet.

No Edward.

Beside me, my sisters lapsed into expectant silence, observing with sharp eyes.

It felt so strange to be spying them, these people who had been part of another life. As time wore on, more gathered. The elders, the pack, their imprints – all present. They talked and paced. There was no laughter. And then, the night fell quiet. I sensed it too; a stillness in the air where insects hushed and birds quieted: the portents of predators.

They came from the south-east as one, a united line of seven pale figures.

The Cullens

Beside me, Fi quivered with excitement – she had long wished to see them in person. But I barely paid attention to her thoughts as my fingers clenched onto the salt-slip rocks, scraping. I saw him, stood beside Carlisle at their centre: Edward. Fire played in the bronze of his hair. On their left Jacob wandered from the trees too, heading to stand beside Sam.

"You called on us," Carlisle said formally, "and we have attended."

There was a hushed pause.

"Shall we begin?" he inquired.

Billy offered them seats by the fire, which they refused. No wonder. Vampires and fire did not mix well. And then their meeting began. As they spoke, exchanging formalities, my eyes skittered over Alice's spiked hair and Jacob's hard frown, Esme's neutral face and Emmett's rigidity, onto the one that I most dreaded and anticipated seeing. Edward's stance was tense, poised as if ready to strike. Deep shadows marred the paleness beneath his eyes and his bronze hair was windswept and messy – all signs of prolonged stress and hardship.

_Oh Edward_…

Wrenching my eyes away, I looked carefully over the rest. To hear them and then to actually _see_ them – I never thought I would be so lucky. It sent an odd flutter through my stomach to watch my family and friends together. They had gone from absolutely despising one another, to working in uneasy accord to… well, I didn't know how to describe what I was seeing here. But they were sharing a campfire, in La Push no less, and no one was being torn to shreds or burnt. There wasn't even snarling… No edgy glances or uncomfortable distances, no nervous tensions between the groups. This was more than some uneasy truce. This was allegiance. The gathering I was witnessing was nothing short of momentous.

I swallowed hard as the tide lapped around my waist, freezing and soothing at once.

It was everything I could ever have hoped for, if I'd have had the courage to hope for it.

And I wasn't a part of it.

I felt… left out. It was an utterly stupid thing to feel. After all, I was the reason they had gathered. I shook off my reverie; no, I _was not_ the reason for the gathering. At least, I was not the _principal_ reason. They were joining forces, as they had done once before, because there was a greater threat, something beyond their knowledge and comprehension.

_Us_

The only reason my sisters had survived so far was because of our anonymity, the mystery that surrounded our race. If they knew how to deal with us, if they knew how easily we could be dispatched, we would have to swim pretty damn fast to save our scaly hides.

That thought sobered me enough to focus back in on the meet and to tune out my more restless yearnings to see more of those I loved. Mara sent me; for my sisters, I had to observe.

A sharp pinch and a mental reprimand from Riana, made my focus even sharper, and with a brief hiss, I turned my attention back to their conversation.

"…And so, the elders have been perusing these old texts," Billy was saying, "There is less knowledge on mermaid lore than there is on the Cold-Ones. The only mention of them was around the time of the first Cold-Ones when a group preyed upon the fisherman of our tribe. Our wolf protectors could not track them in the surf, they moved too quickly, vanishing without a trace, and our kind was not designed to track in the water. However, their shoal did not stay in the area for long, and after a few deaths they moved on. Other tribes along the coast suffered similar loses over the years, but it is uncertain what kind of death-toll these sea-demons really wrecked. In uncertain times many can be lost for unknown reasons and not all disappearances can be attributed to the _sjó__söngvarar_. From what the tales tell, these mermaids – as they are more commonly known – are like Succubae, they lure men into the water, tempting them into the depths, where they drain their blood dry."

He hung his head grimly. "They leave no survivors."

Beside me, there was a quiet chuckle from Riana. _No survivors, then where do the stories come from?_ she mentally chirped with a bright smile.

_This is nothing to smile about, Riana_, Kiera reprimanded, eyes never leaving the beach. _These land-walkers appear to know a great deal about us, more than I am comfortable with_.

Sam's voice made me turn back. "If they are only known to take human males, Billy, then why have women disappeared as well?"

"I cannot say," Billy shook his head sadly. "The only thing we know is that mermaids appear to maintain a purely female population. As I said, the texts are limited."

A surly voice snapped. "In other words you have no idea how to deal with them."

"Jake," Sam growled.

From the shadows of a tree, he huffed. He leant on its trunk, arms crossed.

"It's true," Billy nodded, "we _don't _have any idea. We don't know what we are up against. And that reason alone merits caution."

Closer to the fire, Embry shuffled. "So, what _do_ we know?"

"Let's review," Sam stated – the voice of reason. "They take both men and women from along our shores, but only the remains of the males have been found."

"Ten and counting from what Charlie's files claim," Sue added from Billy's side, "Although, the unreported numbers are likely to be even higher."

Sam nodded, and continued. "They are blood-thirsty predators, they are reclusive, they are fast, potentially faster than werewolves and vampires – at least in the water – which makes they're movements difficult to track. The Cullen's Psychic, Alice, cannot see them."

That was news to me… although, hadn't she said something about that on the phone. It explained a lot. Like why she didn't know where I'd gone, like why they hadn't found me, like why she didn't see me watching them _right now_.

"Wait," Embry said, "you can't see them? Like you can't see us?"

"Yes," she admitted, rather grudgingly – the first of the other Cullens to speak.

Jake huffed. "Not useful for much, are you?"

Jasper snarled and Jake pushed himself up from his tree.

"Her visions are being blocked by you as well, dog," Jasper hissed. "Whenever your plans intersect with ours you blind her."

"I want her back too, Jacob. We all do," Alice whined, "I think that when I come into contact with _something_ I have not known before – like werewolves or these _mermaids_ – then I can't see it because I have never experienced it. Vampires I see clearly because I am one, humans I see because I was one. Everything else is just a blur. It's giving me a headache."

Rubbing at her temples she moved away to lean on Jasper's shoulder.

"These creatures have some similarities to vampires, as well," Sam added, redirecting the conversation. "From what we can tell, they are…"

"Blood-drinkers?" Jared jumped in.

"Cannibals?" Paul sneered.

"We are _not_ cannibals," Rosalie said through gritted teeth.

"Could have fooled me," Paul snorted derisively.

"Animal blood, dog," she reminded him shortly. "We eat the same as you."

Muttering to himself, Jared added, "I prefer to eat my food not slurp it."

"Our _main_ point of focus," Sam interrupted, speaking louder than necessary as Paul opened his mouth again, "is that the girls have not yet been found – _any of them_."

"Them…?" Seth looked up from the fire, "You mean… there's been more go missing?"

I glanced sharply to the side. Kiera caught my movement and the query in my eyes.

_We only took five from Washington in the past month,_ she quickly relayed,_ yourself included, and six more from along the coastline. That is not so many. Now focus._

"Many more," Sam nodded, turning to face the Cullens, "Carlisle?"

"We have been doing extensive research. In this past year, many girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five have disappeared along the coastline. And, after observing the details, we can ascertain that not all of those disappearances are of vampire, human or accidental origin."

Carlisle spoke loudly enough for all to hear, though his voice was grim.

They all lapsed into silence, lingering on the gravity of the situation.

"That doesn't mean much," someone muttered, too low for me to identify who.

"Are you suggesting that they may still be alive?" Quil inquired.

Carlisle stepped forward, and all eyes fell on him. "We've had no information to the contrary, let us be optimistic on this point, at least."

"So," Quil continued, frowning, "they could be holding the girls somewhere?"

Jake's chuckle was dark and bitter, and as the fire cast its flickering orange light across his face I saw that characteristically hard sneer – the one I had come to associate with Sam.

"That's not what he's saying, are you, doc?"

Before Carlisle could reply, Jake continued, facing his brothers. "You all saw the state of that beach, whether first-hand or through other's eyes. What if they're like vampires? What if they _turn_ they're victims?"

From the darkness another voice answered – honeyed and quiet.

"I have been wondering the same thing."

Jake's head snapped up to stare at Edward. It was the first time he'd spoken, I was very aware of that, and although his beautiful voice made my nerves tingle and sing, there was something horribly flat and apathetic about his tone.

Lilith shifted slightly. _I wouldn't say wondering, I'd say blindly hoping by the look on his face. Did he lose someone to the sea I wonder?_ she murmured with a hint of malice.

_He's rather handsome_, another clicked beside her, Fi. _Is that Edward? It is, isn't it?!_

Danica smirked. _I know what you're thinking. And even if it wasn't against our laws to turn a male, he's a vampire. We couldn't turn a vampire even if we tried to take one, they're skin is like rock, horribly hard. It's cold, it tastes funny, and… it'd break our fangs_.

_Oh, I hear a back-story in the makings_, Lilith clicked delightedly.

_I don't want to talk about it_, Danica answered quickly.

Fi huffed. _She's lying, our teeth _break_ vampire skin. It's one of the few things that can_.

_Shush, all of you_, Kiera snapped, and the three lapsed into silence.

Our attentions returned to the group amassed on the beach. Carlisle was speaking now.

"Think about it," he said, "the men are killed and they're remains are left along the shores to rot, these creatures make no effort to hide their carnage. Yet, we have failed to find a single female… body." He seemed to struggle with the word and fleetingly glanced at Edward. "Why would they bother to hide one type but not the other? It wouldn't make sense. I don't think they would expend the effort."

Esme added, "And you said yourself, they have a primarily female population… It makes sense."

_How do they know that?_ Riana quipped. _Our males could be lazing around at home, while we bug them to go out and get real jobs – just like the human men_.

Muffled giggling followed her statement.

_You have a very jaded view of the male side of the species, Riana_, Fi said, _why do you_-

_Hush_, Kiera hissed.

Out loud.

For an indefinite moment we all lapsed into silence, wondering if we had been heard. But on the beach no one turned our way. The sounds of the sea likely drowned out our noise.

"Or, they could be holding them somewhere," Embry added. "Like Quil said."

"That is also a possibility," Edward conceded. "We are not cancelling it out."

"Hang on," Quil said, looking around, "how do we _know_ that they have a primarily female population, I mean, for sure?"

"It's an assumption I'll grant you," Carlisle nodded, "but we've seen only females tracking us."

Around me my sisters froze.

_They've seen us stalking them?!_

_Not as subtle as you thought, hey Fi._

_But we have been so careful._

_Not careful enough apparently._

On the beach, Paul's voice overrode all others. "I hate to be the voice of pessimism here, but how can we be sure that the girls aren't dead too? We don't have any-"

Carlisle cut him off. "We think we have heard from Isabella Swan."

I froze.

Riana's eyes bored into my side.

For one excruciating, long, moment, I did not know whether to stay exactly where I was and 'weather-the-storm', or turn tail and bolt with my sisters snapping angrily at my back like wild harpies. I had broken their biggest taboo; I had made contact with land-walkers, ones that I had previously known. And they had just told them.

_Who's that?_ Fi looked around at us, frowning. _We don't have an Isobel, do we?_

_Not that I recall_… Cathy shrugged, _maybe she drowned. She's probably a run-away or some idiot that jumped off a cliff or something_.

Riana said nothing.

The relief that swept through me was so vast I could have slipped below the waves without a care. Instead I stayed upright, intensely aware of every movement I made. It was a fortunate thing that my sisters were so distracted otherwise they may have noted my thoughts.

I remembered now: I'd informed Mara that my name was Bella Cullen, not Isabella Swan. Riana knew differently, but apparently she wasn't on the verge of ratting me out, yet.

"We believe she is still alive," Carlisle continued.

"Jake?" Sam asked.

"It happened just before we found the bloodied beach. I'll fill you in on the details later. Believe me, it isn't much but it's something. Now, Leah says that her uncle knows more about these old myths than any of us, we've left him messages but he's yet to get back. Paul also knows a relative who might have some insight, Balthazar."

Sam nodded. "I would like you to contact these men soon. Any insight we can gain…"

The rest of their words flowed like the water around me. They delved into theories and ideas and as my sisters silently debated the relevance of it all, I simply stared, drinking the details in. Their faces, their hair, the way their lips formed words or their hands twitched.

The Cullens, the Pack, I had missed them all – all of my land-walker family.

But most of all I missed Edward. My heart ached, pulling as if it could reach out to him.

He spoke little, remaining on the periphery of the group as he silently surveyed all. Now and then he would exchange a sharp glance and a quick nod with Jake, but that was all. It was weird to see them getting along so well. Perhaps my disappearance had bonded them.

When the moon past its zenith, the meeting seemed to wind down, and that was when Kiera decided that we should take our leave. We had risked enough for one night.

_Come_, she clicked.

As my sisters obediently departed, I took the opportunity to quietly observe them for a few more precious seconds. It could be the last time I saw them.

_Oh Edward, _I thought as I surveyed his handsome face, _how I wish this was different… _

Just as I turned to leave, a hand landed sharply on my wrist and slammed me back against the rock. Riana's grip was like an iron-manacle and for a second of blind panic I struggled, kicking instinctively and frantically splashing my tail.

"Are you crazy?!" she hissed out loud, fangs bared. "You contacted a _land-walker_."

"No, I didn't." Grounding my teeth, I tugged my arm away and rubbed my wrist. I glared her way, suddenly feeling mutinous. "Strictly speaking I contacted _seven _of them."

She looked flabbergasted. "You're certifiable," she said, breathlessly. "I knew, I _knew _I should never have left you with that phone, I just didn't think you would be that stupid! But then, the danger was minimal. I mean, how can you talk to them if you can't even _speak_?"

The question was rhetorical; her tone near incredulous. But I answered her anyway. "Morse-code." It wasn't quite the method I had used but it was explanation enough.

She simply gaped, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Oh, sweet Poseidon of ancient Greece… If Mara finds out-"

"-But she won't," I cut her off, "because you're not going to tell her… are you?"

"No," she said carefully, eyeing me. "I should," she warned, "but I won't. I'm not about to watch her flay the scales from your skin."

We both cringed at the mental imagery she projected then, since that was a definite possibility. It had happened to mermaids before.

"I just wanted to hear their voices," I said miserably. "I didn't mean to take it further. Just one call, I thought they'd think it was a wrong number or a bad line, but then they started _talking_ to me, me! They called me by name. They knew who it was."

"Oh, Bella," she said. "Believe it or not I know what you're going through. It-"

She stopped short; something over my shoulder had caught her attention. I struggled in her strangle-hold to see. Her grip slackened and I slunk low behind the rocks, barely peeping out. Riana must have been close behind me too as we both stared back at the shore.

The silhouettes of four, maybe five, figures stood gazing out to sea. From their rigid stances I could guess that something worrying had caught their attention and my first instinct was to scan the water in our vicinity for danger.

"Oops, looks like we made a bit of a ruckus," Riana muttered.

Of course, there was nothing directly in their line of sight except us, hidden behind our rocks. And although we had conducted our argument in the low clicks of our own tongue, our little fight couldn't have failed to draw attention. I had splashed and kicked. How stupid.

One of the figures, well-built and obviously male, called out "Hey!" over his shoulder. It was hard to tell at this distance – with the firelight now directly at his back and his face in shadow – but I could swear that that voice was Embry's. No sooner had he had called than Emmett and Edward flitted to his side, followed by Jake.

"Busted," Riana chimed quietly, "Time to go."

She snagged my wrist but I wrenched it back with a hiss. "Don't you _dare_ use that mind crap on my again!" My brain had begun to swirl. Was that due to her or my own fear?

"Alright, I won't." She held up her hands. "But you really should think about leaving."

Her tone was contrite and with no more than that she splashed into the deep.

Considering her whispered words, her exit was anything but subtle. Diving down, she had flapped her emerald tail in the air ostentatiously, spraying water droplets.

I flinched, peeking back at the shore. Emmett had a restraining hand on Edward's shoulder while Jacob glared at the spot Riana had vanished from – yep, they'd seen her.

"Were they listening to us?" Embry said, with something akin to astonishment.

"Blood-sucking bitches!" Paul shouted, throwing a rock. The shot, though impressive, fell painfully short, plopping harmlessly into the waves twenty feet away.

Emmett was muttering furiously into Edward's ear, but even from this distance, one-hundred metres out, I heard every word.

"Remember, we don't know what they can do. They're faster than us, maybe just as strong, and we don't know their numbers but they are definitely higher than ours. We've talked about this. Hold it together, man."

Edward shrugged angrily out of his grip but made no further move towards the ocean.

My whole body froze like ice, locking in place so I could barely move.

Edward was there, right there. I could just imagine myself going to him, and for a moment the fantasy took hold.

_I would shift out from behind my rock, swimming slowly, carefully, closer. He would see me clearly, his vampire vision would assure that, and he would know who I was. Shock would morph into relief and he would wade into the tide to reach me, swinging me up and grasping me tightly in his arms, encasing me in safety and love while he breathed deeply into my sea-drenched hair – it wouldn't matter that I was wet and carried the scent of the sea. It wouldn't matter that I wore no clothes and scales covered the lower half of my body. It would just be me and him and nothing else. The world would fall into hushed stillness, holding its breath and waiting on us. Whispering frantically how he had missed me, he would assure me that he would never let me out of his sight again. But most importantly he would tell me that he loved me and that nothing could ever change that. Nothing. _

The sweetness of the reunion was tangible in the air, like a living thing, coiling and alive…

But it was all a fantasy, it could _never_ happen.

He would never want me like this, none of them would. Riana and Mara were right. Even if he did, on land I could not breathe. The sea would forever separate us.

My dream came to a crashing halt as reality hit full-force. The cold night wind picked up and tendrils of damp hair whipped at my face.

_I lied to you before_, Riana's melodic voice drifted into my mind, and I knew that she was still close by. _When I told you I had never wanted to contact my surface-family, I lied. I more than lied, because once, I did. The phone lay forgotten on a beach… I took it, and I texted my mother. She had been searching for me for weeks by then and did not hesitate to come. When she saw what I had become she screamed and ran. I never tried again. Our families do not want us like this. We are dangerous and strange and far too different. _

I swallowed hard, looking to the water. The sea concealed her well, but she was there.

_What if I want to try? _My mind whispered back. _What if he will accept me as I am?_

Sadness laced her tone. _He will not want you either, Bella. Just like my mother did not want me. As a vampire, yes, you would be accepted, as a human too. But now, look at yourself. You're a mutant fish! Our kind was not meant to walk the land, place us in the air and we suffocate. Even if you wished to try… it would be impossible._

No, I did not want to listen to her logic. It was meant to trap me, like Mara had trapped me with her mind-tricks. Determination hardened into resolves and tensing I made to move.

_Wait_, Riana called. _Look at them before you go, see beyond what you _want_ to see_.

The fright in her voice made me pause. I looked at them then, I _really_ looked.

The vampires stood still as only vampires could, and by contrast the wolves quivered with clenched fists. Vibrations shook their physical frames until their outlines blurred.

Edward was barely holding it together. Beyond still. In that state he wasn't likely to hug, he was likely to tear. He looked ready to do violence and it wasn't just him.

They all looked so angry, livid, in fact.

The inevitability of my departure sunk in with greater strength. It wasn't safe to stay here, with my sisters gone. I felt their absence acutely and a creeping anxiety began to take hold, urging me to return to them, to dive back into the depths where it was safe and quiet.

This time it was not mind manipulation but my own reservations that pricked.

Now was not the time for reunion. But I would find a way: a message scrawled in sand, a phone on the beach, maybe I'd luck-out and come across another one. I could text!

Any way I could I would contact him again. I was determined.

With one last look at the shore, I whispered "I love you" and made my exit. It was much quieter and lacked Riana's theatrical flair. A drop beneath the waves and a quick turn west and I followed Riana's disappearing tail into the murk. I didn't think they noticed me.

…

**Any mistakes I blame on my rotten cold and muggy head – thankfully it's clearing up. College started too this week, fun to combine the two. **

**There aren't many chapters left until a … erm… big event occurs, I swear. Thanks for reading and showing your support. It always makes me smile to see those messages. :)**


	20. Chapter 20 - Plan A

**Thanks for the lovely messages again, and for the fol/fav's, they really help when writing. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 20: Plan A – JPOV

Edward had bought a boat. But not just any boat, no. The Cullens never did anything by half measures. This was like the God of Boats: sleek, manoeuvrable, probably reached nought to sixty in five seconds… even Jake could appreciate it, grudgingly.

As he strode down the make-shift pier close to Edward's R.V. he tried to stifle the urge to gawk, that was until he saw the name.

"That's an Edgewater," he gaped.

Edward nodded, a slight smirk lifting the corner of his mouth as he wiped his hands.

"The Z10-Hurricane variety?" Jake continued.

He nodded again, the smirk becoming more pronounced, though, never quite reaching his eyes. It never did these days.

"You know your boats," he said in apparent approval.

"Brought up by the sea, remember?" Letting loose a low whistle, Jake mumbled, "When you do things you never half-ass them, do you, leech?"

"No, never." The smile left his face then. "It comes with integrated systems, the most sophisticated echolocation technology currently available to mankind. There's four camera feeds under the hull that run on a twenty-four hour loop, with night-vision and infra-red enhancements – all recordings are instantly downloaded to the main-frame computer and backed-up by a remote hard-drive. I added the modifications myself."

"Wow," was the only thing Jake could think to say.

"Yes. Wow."

They simply stood, admiring the boat as seagulls cawed. The mechanical wonder was a thing of beauty. And Jake was practically itching to get a look at its engine.

"I bet your brothers drooled when they saw this baby," Jake sighed. "You guys all like fast… _things_… right?"

There was a slight smirk. "Vampires do not drool, dog. That is a canine tendency." Jake gave him 'the look' and he chuckled. _Haha, funny leech_. "But yes they were envious," Edward answered, "even if they did not say so aloud. Emmett's thinking of acquiring one for him and Rose, but he knows that she would never enjoy the sea air. Likely he and Jasper will end up pooling their funds. Maybe I'll just give them this one… when I'm done with it."

As a frown creased his forehead, Edward's hand reached up for the chain that hung about his neck. It was an almost subconscious gesture, Jacob thought, as he watched the vampire's fingers wind about the locket hanging there. Bella's picture was inside, he knew. It was something Alice had gifted to him in the days prior to Bella's disappearance, an early wedding present, she had said, when she saw Jacob looking at it yesterday.

The ever-present ache he felt in his own heart tugged.

"And it's equipped with practically everything," Edward continued, as if to distract them both, "All the latest in sea-faring technology."

"All that you need to hunt Nessie," Jake laughed. "We're not in Loch Ness, you know."

"I am well aware of that. The sea is a much larger place to search."

Clutching the locket, he seemed to lose himself in the strange ravellings of his own mind. His dark eyes grew distant, stretching to scan far across the horizon.

_He strikes me as a Madman on the edge of obsession._

"Maybe I am," Edward responded.

"Sorry," Jake muttered. He never did have a thought-filter.

"You cannot help your thoughts, Jacob. No one can. And you're probably right…"

"Have you ever wondered why Bella didn't just text?" Jake added with a frown. The mouth-filter seemed to have gone too. "I mean, if she had a phone and couldn't speak… it kind of seems like the obvious thing to do."

Edward sighed, releasing the locket he took up a spanner and rag once again and began to wipe away the oily black grease.

"Bella is a technophobe," he said. "She's never been very good with technology. Every time she went to see you on the reservation I would urge her to take a phone – she would never accept one as a gift – half of the time she forgot it and if she did not… most of the apps she did not know _how_ to use. The thing confounded her and she had no interest in it."

"True." Jake remembered her watching him in his garage as he worked on the rabbit. Weeks they spent there, and still she looked upon his tool-box with an expression of utter perplexion. Tech just wasn't her thing. That led him onto more thoughts though…

He began slowly, wary of Edward's reaction. "Have you wondered if perhaps, presuming that Bella _is_ one of them, she may have been listening at the meeting last night?"

The rag froze. "Constantly."

"Then, in theory, if she was there then why wouldn't she come ashore to see us?"

"The same reason she did not remain by the phone after she rang," he answered, face carefully blank. "Something, likely someone, is preventing her."

_Other mermaids_, Jake thought but said nothing aloud.

The silence stretched, becoming awkward. Jake shuffled as the breeze picked up.

"So this is plan B?" Jake ventured, gesturing to the shiny new boat, "If this stuff with Paul's uncle doesn't pan out?"

Edward only shrugged. "B stands for boat. It's another option, one of the only ones we have left. If she is out there in that water, if she cannot leave it… then I will go to her."

Jacob mentally assessed its size. "Think you can fit two in there?"

The grimace he gave spoke volumes. "The Edgewater is not really designed for an extended human stay. I need little to sustain me. You, however…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Jake waved. Obviously this was a one-man mission, no co-pilot. The idea was troubling, though. They did not know much about these creatures and if Edward was alone, without back-up… "Let's just see what comes up with this Balthazar guy first, huh," he said, unhinged by the idea of worrying over a vampire's welfare. "You never know, we might learn something good. And as much as I'd like to go all ultra-ego and claim I can do it myself, I do need you and your mind-reading voodoo-"

"-It's not voodoo," Edward sighed; lips quirking in amused exasperation.

"-To catch all the sneaking details he'd rather hide," Jake finished.

From Leah's uncle they had heard no word, but Paul had finally managed to contact his estranged uncle Balthazar this morning. The man was supposed to know a great deal about the _sjó__söngvarar_ legends, but he refused to speak over the phone, insisted on a face-to-face conversation. So that was where Jake was headed now, to L.A. where he lived. Hopefully the trip would prove fruitful. But the _Cocopo_ were a tight-lipped people when it came to their histories, just like the Quileutes, so Jake surmised that he would need Edward's help.

"You know I will do what I can, Jacob. But I can guarantee nothing."

The shadows under Edward's eyes were growing darker and deeper by the day. Jake had long ago learnt from Bella that this was a sure sign of hunger, a sign that a vampire was not feeding as he should. And Jake knew why. It was hard to focus on anything, even food, while she was out there – lost and afraid and in danger. Jake could sympathise. Even if he did not like it, Jake had come to terms with how deeply Edward cared about Bella. It was his one positive attribute in some ways. So he knew the depths of what he was going through… It wasn't that he cared what happened to him, Jake told himself. It had nothing to do with Edward. But he _needed_ him to stay sharp to get Bella back safely.

_And_… the leech probably heard all of that, though he showed no sign of it, he just stared calmly out to sea. Awkwardness practically crackled between them.

"So," Jake clapped his hands together, "your vehicle or mine?"

…

They didn't take the Edgewater, to Jake's immense disappointment. Edward said its engine still needed work and it was not ready for its maiden voyage just yet, not even a test run.

_Well Hell_…

The jeep was utterly destroyed that first day when Edward had smashed the thing into a tree in order to reach the shore more swiftly, and Jacob's 'work-in-progress' didn't have the speed they needed. So they took the Volvo.

_No matter_, Jake thought, _I didn't want to fill the rabbit with vamp-stink anyway_.

They tore down the I101 at well over 150 mph, dodging traffic-cops and other vehicles with ease, right down to Portland and then on through Salem and Sacremento towards L.A. – their destination. The trip took the better part of two days; two days of stony silence and rest-stops only for fuel and in Jacob's case: water and snacks. But they arrived quicker than Jake thought they would at a back-woods shack in the Boney Mountain State Wilderness.

Cutting the engine they jumped out of the car. _Ah, air! _Jake breathed it in.

The place was not far from the coast. Jake could hear tide lapping even if he could not see it through the tree-cover, but it didn't look right. The wooden hut was… _dilapidated_, thick with vines and weeds and junk scattered across its porch. Were Paul's directions right? Was this his uncle's place?

Just as he was about to ask Edward, the door creaked open to reveal a bearded man.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day!" he called. "A wolf-shifter and a Cold-One stood side by side on my doorstep. Well, if the world ain't getting stranger and stranger."

Jake frowned, his chest constricting. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, I'm just messing with you," he grinned, slapping his thigh as he strode down the steps. "Paul rang ahead and let me know you were coming and who you are."

_Paul has a big mouth_, Jake thought, but focussed once the guy drew closer.

The man was misleading, he looked old and held himself as if some infirmity pained him, but Jake could see that it was an act. Beneath that weather-worn trench coat and patched jeans the man was all muscle and sinew. A bristly black beard obscured most of his face too.

"Well, hi…" Jake said, scrambling for words as the man came to stand before them. "I'm Jake, this is Edward…"

The man's skin and bone-structure were very similar to his own; he could have been Quileute, at least in part. But there was a hardness in his eyes that set Jake's hackles on edge.

"Ephraim's gran-kid," he nodded. "I wondered why Paul didn't come but he said the council wanted to send you. Names Balthazar, though you two already know that don't you?" The man's eyebrow rose and Jake wondered how much Paul had told him, a great deal judging by what he had said so far. He wondered if Sam knew just how much he'd said… and if he was in violation of the treaty. Beside him, Edward said nothing.

"Come in, come in," Balthazar gestured, all eagerness as he strode ahead of them back into the shack, "you Cold-ones need an invite, right?"

_So he doesn't know everything… _Jake shared a look with Edward, _or is he joking…_

"Thank you," Edward nodded politely, taking the lead.

The interior was dingy, thick with cobwebs and mothballs and it stunk of fish. More junk was piled about the room in stacks: buckets and nets and tangled papers. Amidst the lot, barely visible, was a threadbare coach and two armchairs that Balthazar gestured to. They fronted a roaring fire.

"Paul tells us that you are an expert on err… marine life," Jake said as he gingerly sat.

Oh, eww, the cushions felt _moist_.

"Marine life, huh?" Balthazar huffed as he sat opposite Edward, and with an almost wry air he shrugged. "Maybe I do and maybe I don't…"

"You do," Edward said, point-blank. "And we would appreciate your candidness. We are here to learn about what you know of the _Sjó__Söngvarar_, the mermaids."

Well at least he was to the point.

"Straight onto business, huh?" Balthazar chuckled as he eyed Edward, then Jacob. He looked as if he were assessing them, but for what? "Paul said you'd be direct. What happened to pleasantries with your generation, everything is always to be rushed."

"We _are_ short on time," Edward stressed.

Balthazar waved a belligerent hand as if it were all relative. "Sit, sit."

Jake frowned. They were already sat.

"Let me get some refreshments," he continued, "we'll do this the proper way."

Annoyed, Jake half-rose to demand details, but Edward's head-shake caught his eye.

"You'll get nothing from him that way," he muttered quietly, "we have to follow his rules if we are to make progress here. In many ways he is as stubborn as your Paul."

"Family trait then," Jake huffed, relaxing in his seat. It felt like a spring was poking into his leg underneath. Damn upholstery.

From the miniscule kitchen, pots and pans clanked as he tinkered by the stove.

"What do you think?" Jake asked, cocking his head in the man's direction.

Edward's face was inscrutable, carefully blank.

"I do not like the man," he soon said, "I once hunted his kind, years ago." He sighed. "But he has equipment and techniques that we sorely need… and knowledge."

"…the kind we can't find anywhere else?"

"Yes. He has ways to attract the mermaids."

"If you don't like the guy that much, can't you just, you know, _pluck_ all of the stuff that we need to know out of his head so we can get out of here?"

He sighed, rubbing his closed eyes. "You clearly do not understand how my gift works, Jacob. There is no 'plucking'. I see only surface thoughts. I cannot see what any one person is not currently thinking of. I'm sure I have explained this to you before… And he has not yet shown me all that I need to know. In fact," he frowned, "I think he may be blocking it out."

Jake sighed. Paul and his big mouth had just made this trek ten-times harder.

The frown melted and Edward sighed again. "Anyway, I fear that if we tried anything that I have _read_, to contact or catch these _Sjó__Söngvarar_, I may have missed a vital detail that would make the difference between success and failure. I cannot afford to fail."

"Yeah, I know," Jake grimaced. His hackles prickled. "But I don't trust him…"

"You'd be right not to."

No further explanation came, and the clanking in the kitchen continued.

"Okay," Jake said, "how about I distract him, try and get all we need to know, while you root around in his head and pick up the details. You can tell me what you hear later."

Edward's eyebrows rose. "That's a sound plan."

"And you _will_ tell me, right? No hoarding details like you do with Bella."

A scowl darkened his face. "I never hide anything from her!"

Jake scoffed. Had he forgotten that Bella was his best friend? She _talked_.

"Not anymore," Edward added quietly.

Conversation between them became impossible after that as the man returned bearing a tray of chipped mugs full of… was that tea? It was oddly green and stunk of compost. There were brown bottles too, Jake noted with relief, although they looked like beer.

"Would the Cold One like a cold one?" Balthazar grinned, offering Edward a bottle of amber liquid as if it were the most tempting thing. "It's been a hot day."

"Thank you but I don't drink," Edward declined politely, "underage."

"Uh-huh," he huffed, offering it to Jake who politely shook his head.

Vampires may not have been able to drink alcohol, but werewolves could. The problem was, with their metabolism, it worked too well. And he needed a clear head right now.

Balthazar popped a cap and slung himself into the nearest seat.

"So," he began gruffly, "my boy Paul tells me you have a mermaid problem up north. I'd be only too happy to assist in any way I can, spent my whole life dealing with them sea-demons, as have my pa and grand-pa before me – family business so to speak."

"Well, we're not hunting them exactly," Jake said carefully, exchanging a glance with Edward, "we believe they've taken someone we… someone we know, a friend."

"The one in that locket of yours?" Balthazar nodded to the pendant currently locked in Edward's grasp. He dropped his grip. "Close are you?" he asked, only to nod when they said nothing. "I share your pain. My own son was lost to those devious creatures. Hmm, if you're looking for them out here, and you're asking me… I can't say that your chances are good."

Edward was quick to jump in. "But you have a good idea of where she might be, of _who_ she might be with, of how many?"

Balthazar was already shaking his head. "I'm sorry, lads, but your friend is likely dead by now, or worse. They leave no survivors."

"But we think she may have-"

"She!" Balthazar said, sitting up and setting his bottle down. "Your friend is a _she_?"

"Yes…" Jake leant forward.

"My condolences, boys," the man sighed. "She's as good as dead."

_Such a pessimist_, Jake frowned. The last thing they needed right now was someone like that.

"As good as," Edward quietly noted, "but _not_?"

Balthazar's lips thinned, frowning. "Mermaids replenish their ranks with females they drag from the shores. She will no longer be herself if they have her, her body and mind will be altered."

"Whatever she 'is', we want a shot at getting her back," Jake insisted.

"You're better giving up on her now," he insisted, "save yourselves some pain, boys."

"Never," Edward hissed.

The man's frown only darkened as he silently surveyed the two of them. Quiet fell, and Edward did not help, he only stared right back, meeting Balthazar's hard gaze unflinchingly.

_Okay_… Macho-Alpha staring contests were apparently unrestricted to the animal kingdom. As Jake twiddled his thumbs, waiting, he looked about the room. There were some prize-catches displayed on the wall: sword-fish and tuna. A puffer-fish hung from a string, and above the hearth, in pride of place, hung a bleached white jawbone.

"That's kind of small for a shark jaw, isn't it?" Jake said conversationally, mainly to disperse the tense atmosphere. "The fishing around here mustn't be very good."

Balthazar laughed; a hearty booming sound. "That's cause it ain't a shark's jaw, son. It's one-hundred percent _Sjó__Söngvarar_." He looked on it fondly. "A mermaid from my Chilean hunt ten year back – one of my greatest successes that was."

Beside him, Edward looked sick. What was he hearing?

"You… err… captured one?" Jake ventured.

"One, aye, I captured a few dozen or more," he grinned and in his mouth a gold tooth sparkled. "They're slippery beasts but they're not as wily as they think they are. That's why you boys are here, aren't you? You want to learn how to catch them."

Without preamble or evasion the man stood and retrieved a strange looking contraption from the back-room. It was like a giant lantern, complete with oil burner and magnifying lenses and lots of shiny silver metal plates. He handed it to Edward to examine.

"That there is a beacon," he said, sitting once more, "It's what hunters like me-self use to attract the _Sjó__Söngvarar_. They're particularly partial to man-made light. It's a weakness. Hang that over a bay where you wish to lure them in, and if any see, they'll come."

"And this will work?" Edward asked sceptically. "Have you ever tried it?"

"No, not had the chance. It did for another of my tribe. It's how my friend Gio tells me he met them off the coast of Mexico. That's another man of the _Cocopo_, lost his daughter to one of 'um a few years back, or so he thinks. And he's been roaming the sea since."

Jake held up his hands.

"So… your friend, he made _contact_ with some of them using this…" _What was it?_

"Light lure," Edward supplied, examining the thing with curious eyes.

"Yeah, that thing."

"He did. Giovanni thinks he can deal peaceably with 'um." Balthazar shook his head sadly. "I told him straight, diplomacy doesn't work. But if he can get any of them to lead him back to their Colony then I'll help him to get his kid back before I rout the place."

Edward's head snapped up. "You would destroy their home?"

"Oh yes," he nodded, expression serious, "it must be done. They're like ants or cockroaches, the nest needs to be destroyed or their numbers will only rise. Remember that they feed on living humans. That kind of ethic cannot be allowed to continue."

_Blood on the sands_… Jake remembered all too clearly but didn't care to examine the meaning of it too closely. No one had discussed what this meant for Bella. No one had dared.

"So," Jake said, "the lure, can we have it?"

"You can…" Balthazar nodded slowly, and Jake recognised that look. He had seen it on many a crooked mechanic, "but you will need someone who knows how to work it, someone with skills you do not possess… someone who can lead them in and capture them."

Jake deadpanned. "You mean we need you."

"Boys," he grinned, and started to rise, "I will be returning with you to La Push."

…

**Note: I really don't know much about boats, I did a bit of research but in the end I made it up. Edward's boat is completely fictional. **


	21. Chapter 21 - Orion the Hunter

**Thanks for the great reviews/fols/favs again, they really make my day when they ping into my inbox. And some of you leave such heart-warming messages. Simply knowing that you guys like it and want to hear more means so much. Thanks a million for your support. Nemma **

**Oh, and for the reviewer who queried about Jacob, don't worry, I have plans for him ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 21: Orion the Hunter – BPOV

"What I don't understand," Riana said, "is why they held their secret meeting on Quileute lands. I mean, I thought they had a treaty forbidding them from wandering onto the wolves' turf, or something? It seemed a little risky."

"I heard someone say it was because it was the most secluded place," I said, "and the furthest from the main tribe."

Riana carried on as if I had not spoken. "And then for them to place it on a beach! In full view of the ocean! It's like they _wanted_ us to eavesdrop. They were practically inviting us to." She folded her arms and scoffed, "Secret meeting indeed."

"Maybe they didn't expect us to get so close… they did look angry when they saw us."

_More than angry… Edward had looked murderous, his eyes like black orbs…_

Riana clicked on and on about this and that and various aspects of the gathering while I lapsed into silence, preoccupied with my own thoughts. The idea of contacting Edward was always there, but I tried to never settle on it for too long lest someone else hear my musing. But I needed to talk to him; I needed to find a way back to him. I needed to get away from this place so that I could _think_. Here my thoughts were subject to examination, manipulation and control. They became musty and unclear. I couldn't afford to be pulled back into that apathetic, uncaring, mermaid state again, for Edward's sake if not my own.

It did not matter that I wasn't speaking, because as we drifted into the dome there were so many excited voices overlapping one another that my mental tone was drown beneath the flow. That left me free to think.

"Have you heard?" Lilith called as she flitted close with her sharp ruby tail, "Mara was really interested with what we overheard last night. In fact, there was something we caught that really disturbed her."

That caught my attention. "What? Which part?"

Lilith shrugged. "Don't know. But whatever it was it prompted her to go and survey First Beach herself."

Riana gaped. "You mean, she's _left_ the colony?!"

"Yeah," Lilith said, "didn't you catch that? It's all anyone has been talking about."

"What could possibly have frightened her?" I persisted. "Surely you have some idea?"

Something about this situation caused my chest to constrict, though I couldn't pin what.

Lilith glared. "I said I _don't know_. Something we overheard just spooked her. Whatever it was though, she's remained studiously silent about it. And as hers is the only mind that none of us can access, we're all left in the dark. But as soon as she gets back I-"

A blood-curdling screech ripped through the water.

Reeling in shock, I frantically assessed the state of my nearby sisters. They appeared just as aghast as I, and judging by their thoughts they were just as dumbfounded.

_Where did that come from?_ The thought echoed back and forth.

Many cast around them in search of danger. Off to the side little Kali had her eyes squeezed shut with her hands pressed to her ears as the screech progressed. Kiera's gaze was trained directly ahead, eyes flashing green, and next to her Riana muttered one word.

_Mara._

Sure enough, as I followed their gazes, a dark shadow obscured the dome's entrance, blocking the light as the painful screech reached its crescendo and stopped.

As Mara flitted down with powerful waves of her dark tail, her face contorted. Anger ploughed into us like a wave of heat and as one we all fell back. Mara was shaking with the force of her rage, and, as if she could suppress it no longer she threw her head back and released another scream – birthing sound to her impotent, formless ire. What was wrong?

I wasn't the only one wondering, all around me meek, frightened whisperings sounded. My sisters musing over what could cause our diligent leader to lose control like this.

All were too frightened to ask.

One word eventually swam to the forefront of her telepathy: _him_.

The image of the '_him_' she was referring to swam into view, obvious for us all to read: A thick-set man with a dark bushy beard and black trench-coat. I, along with many others, replied with nothing but questioning confusion. We had no idea of this male's significance, or the apparent threat he posed – for surely he was a threat to warrant Mara's furious state.

Everyone stared after her in silence, both mental and verbal.

Kiera broke first, and she, along with two of the other elders, darted to her shoulder. Carefully, they worked her fury down. Kiera's hand massaged circles on her upper arm as her mind poured calming thoughts into hers, soothing like an ice-pack on a burning wound.

With a shark's sharp flick Mara threw her off and vanished down one of the darker tunnels. Kiera followed in the next second.

"Whoa," Riana said into the silence.

"Understatement," I muttered.

…

It was much later in the day when Mara re-emerged with Kiera and the dark skinned Danica at her shoulders. As she swam into the dome, all fell silent, staring with expectant eyes.

"I apologise, my daughters," she said as she held up her hands. "I was… surprised by the presence of a particular individual I saw. His appearance means danger for us all."

"How?" someone cried.

"What danger?"

"Who is he?"

The questions came from all directions. I might have asked one but I couldn't be sure, there were too many voices.

"His name is Balthazar and we – meaning a select few of your kindred – have had dealings with him in the past." She exchanged a significant glance with Kiera, who nodded ever-so-slightly in return. Worry marred her features, it was clear that this revelation was troubling to her too. "He is a very dangerous land-walker."

"How?" the brown-haired Tara called, "He looks human."

"He is… I believe," she said, though the hesitation in her voice made me wonder. "But he is a human with knowledge, knowledge of us, and that is a very worrying thing."

"He is a hunter of mermaids," the blond Kiera added from her side.

"And he is responsible for the decimation of the Chilean colony," added the ebony-haired Danica on Mara's right. Sorrow clouded her mind.

_So many lives…_ her heart grieved and the universal sadness extended to us. We may have never known those souls but they were our sisters too, and I _felt_ Danica's pain.

Mara continued. "If he becomes involved, or _has_ become involved with the vampires and werewolves, as I believe he has, then we are all in a lot of trouble. This is a very disturbing turn of events."

A girl whose name I did not know called out. "But surely he cannot harm us here, we are far out into the Pacific and our home is well hidden."

Mara nodded. "Yes, we are safe within these walls, but I must warn you to take care, my daughters. Outside I cannot always protect you. Take heed when you hunt, be wary of your surroundings and above all else – and I emphasise this strongly – remain hidden, secrecy is our greatest weapon. With it, we remain unknown; with it, we remain safe."

She sighed then, placing a hand to her forehead and as one the sisters leant forward, aching for their mother's pain.

"I must think on this privately now," she said weakly, "Return to your activities."

…

When the chaotic chatter quieted and most of the mermaids fell into silence, I quietly drifted away from Lilith and Riana – who were still debating the relevance of this Balthazar and what they had heard of him in the past – and made my way down Mara's dark tunnel.

I didn't really know where I was going, and I didn't know if I would be welcome, but I was going to try to speak to her. Above all others I should know who my land-walker family were dealing with. If the man was as dangerous as Mara seemed to think…

"Speak to our good vampire friend, Randall," I heard Mara say as I drifted closer to a cave entrance illuminated with eerily green light. "Perhaps he can be of some help."

Peeking around the corner, I saw Mara speaking to Kiera.

"He left this morning," Kiera lamented, "and is not expected back for seven suns."

"Ah, well, when he returns then."

"As you wish, mam."

I waited for my moment, and as Kiera swam past me – her thoughts registered brief surprise to see me in the doorway – I hovered into the open, making myself known.

"Mara," I said.

"Ah yes, young Bella. Come in. I was expecting you to swim by."

She was? Spurred by the invite I spoke swiftly.

"Who is this man? His appearance seemed to come upon your thoughts suddenly."

"You are perceptive," Mara nodded. "Indeed he did. I recognised the name when it was mentioned at the land-walker's meeting. I hoped I was wrong and that they meant another, but I had to be sure. When I went to survey the area myself, I knew. I was listening out to one of our scouting sisters when she saw and recognised him too. I immediately recalled her."

"Where was he seen?" I dared to ask.

"Wandering among the Quileute's at First Beach. Two of the wolves were with him, Sam and another. There may have been more but she was unsure, she was startled enough by the sight of him that she did not remain long enough to take inventory of his associates."

"So, he is well known?"

"Among some of your elder sisters, yes, to Danica in particular, and she was the one to see him." She paused, eyeing me closely, before adding, "He butchered her first family."

Despite the water I was engulfed in my mouth suddenly felt dry.

And this man, this murderer, was wondering around First Beach, with Sam.

"What does this mean, then?"

"If he is there, he is there for one reason: _to hunt us_. If the wolves are involved with him they will know about us too…" She shook her head, as if in frustration. "And from what I can gather from your thoughts they will most likely pass this information onto the vampires. Then there are those damned elder's scrolls from their archive. Our anonymity has been lost."

"They will not harm me," I said swiftly, "they will not harm _us_ without cause…" But we had given cause; the death toll was rising, they'd said so. Neither Pack nor Coven would stand by while innocents were slaughtered, just like they would not stand by while the new-borns terrorised Seattle. That thought gave me pause: Was this the same? Being on the opposite side of enemy lines made little difference, even if I had committed no crime I… _Ah, but then they may think that I have_. The image of Lilith's blood-bathed beach swam into my mind before I could dismiss it.

Nauseating coils tightened my stomach even as I shook my head.

_What did they think of me now? Did Jake think I was a monster? Did Edward…?_

"I have never told you the story of Asherah, have I?" Mara said suddenly. I blinked, looking up at her. She was staring at a depiction carved into her sea-smoothed wall.

"No," I said slowly.

The carving was rough, though softened by water. It appeared to be very old, but, if I squinted I could make out details: a fish tail, flowing hair, no smile.

"She was the first of our kind," Mara continued, "or so the tales say… her name means 'she who walks in the sea'. Asherah was a child of an old God, a sea God, who loved her dearly. But Asherah was adventurous and curious in her youth and as she grew she developed a keen interest in those that walked on the land. Her father-God warned her against such associations – for the people of the Land and the Sea are worlds apart. That did not matter to her though, and when she met a handsome young boy named Orion, it mattered even less."

"A bird may love a fish," I quoted, "but where would they live?"

"Precisely," Mara nodded, "I think you, of all of my daughters, would understand such a situation, especially with your vampire lover." A blush heated my cheeks but she ignored it, continuing. "Love is powerful, but dangerous, especially when the heart follows without caution. And Asherah's heart did that."

"Mara," I could not help but interrupt, "you told me that mermaids cannot love."

Her dark eyes became inscrutable.

"It was not always so," she finally said. "Asherah gave her love wholly and completely. And she was deceived. Orion, the first hunter, knew of the Sea Daughters and had heard that they guarded a great treasure beneath the waves. Her heart may have been filled with love but his held pure greed. When Asherah found out, it was too late. He killed her two sisters and almost killed her – though he never found any treasure. There was none _to_ find, it was only a hunter's ideal."

"He left her for dead with little more than a backwards glance, and Asherah wanted to die, for the pain in her heart far exceeded that of her physical wounds."

"The Sea God found her this way and gave his life to save his last remaining child. And although she recovered in body… she had lost her heart, and her will to love. She became like stone, a true emotionless being – a trait she passed down to her daughters, to me."

Mara sighed. "In some ways we care deeply: the unconditional affection of your sisters, for example, but we are incapable of the human equivalent of love. Our human emotions are numbed and lost upon transformation. Some, however… can too easily be reclaimed. When it comes to love, I discourage such a strong and raw connection. It hurts too easily and always inevitably scars. In many cases, for us, such a scar is fatal."

"Are you saying that I could love Edward?" _Had I ever stopped?_

She gave me a look that I could not read. It may have been pitying.

"After Orion's treachery," she continued, "Asherah vowed vengeance against any land-walker that would dare trespass into her domain. All those that took to the sea perished."

Frowning, I said, "That's not strictly true though, is it?"

"It was back then. At that time the ocean was a very unforgiving realm." Mara rubbed her forehead, "Then came the day that Asherah saw another grieving woman. She wept, climbing her way to a cliff over the sea. The girl was young, little more than eighteen, and her heart had been broken by the man she most dearly loved. Asherah knew that pain, and when the girl threw herself into the waves Asherah took her, making her a sister and turning her tortured heart to cool and unbreakable stone. She was the first of many to be turned. And so, whenever a female came to her sea, she took her in," Mara's voice turned flat and hard, "the males, she butchered without remorse to feed her growing sistren."

I swallowed, hard. "What of Orion?"

"He lived. Had children, all sons, scores of them," Mara shrugged, "when Asherah had the chance she took the two eldest from him as a type of revenge. Orion knew, of course, who had done it. And Asherah left the bodies for him to find."

Sighing deeply, Mara finally looked at me.

"The ex-lovers warred for many years, so did their children, and their children's children. Their conflict only grew with each passing generation, never to be resolved. It is said their hatred of one another was so fierce that even in death they fought each other among the stars, where we can still see them today, immortalised by the First Gods."

Her thoughts seemed to drift, though I could not hear them, and her eyes strayed once again to the rough, primitive carving on her wall. I wondered who had made it.

"And now Orion's children hunt us still," she muttered.

It took effort to break the eerie silence Mara left, but with a breath, I did.

"What does this have to do with that man, Balthazar?"

"It is believed amongst our kind that he is the direct descendant of Orion, the last of his line. And he follows in his ancestors' footsteps: tracking, hunting, and killing our kind." Almost to herself, she continued, "this is what I feared, why I _had_ to shore-up our numbers."

"Mara," I said, breathing deep, "are the wolves and Cullens in danger from this man?"

Her dark eyes pierced, as black as pitch, and in their depths I felt lost.

…

**A little back-story was necessary. For those of you wondering when the next 'big-thing' is, it's soon. I just needed this and the next chapter to set things up.**** :)**


	22. Chapter 22 - Leading the Charge

**As always thanks for the lovely reviews/fol/favs, Nemma **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 22: Leading the Charge – BPOV

For many days we heard nothing more; of the wolves, the Cullens, or Balthazar. Everything was silence. This was likely because, in a sudden burst of ire, Mara declared that all trips to the surface were banned for the foreseeable future. I was not the only one who baulked.

Creatures such as us were not meant to be confined or caged, we were meant to roam free in our vast ocean realms, one among its corals and fishes and weeds…

As the days passed, the boredom grew. There was only so much to occupy us with in our home, despite its legions of tunnels. And when mermaids grew bored trouble ensued. When the tedium reached breaking point, it was Lilith that acted out in a red-fuelled rage. She ventured into the meat-locker where a few scraggly human boys were still being kept, alive.

As soon as I heard the mental telepathy I blocked her out. I didn't need any more images of blood-drenched sands. Beside me, I saw Riana flinch as well.

"I wonder why Lilith is so cruel," I commented, ignoring the distant screams.

"She's a mermaid," Riana said, "mermaids _are_ cruel."

"You're not. Not _always_," I added, thinking of that day at the beach and the poor man, "You've never been cruel to _me_." She frowned, so I added, "That was a compliment."

"Mermaids aren't supposed to be kind," she said.

"They aren't supposed to feel emotion either," I pointed out. "Yet yesterday I _felt_ Mara's anger at Balthazar, I _felt_ Danica's sadness. What are they if not emotions?"

Her brow furrowed. "Perhaps it is wrong to say we do not feel, then. We do. Just not the more positive things like affection and kindness and charity… And never with intensity. The exception being to our own kind, but you could call that evolution, or preservation of the species. _We_ – as in you and I – may be exceptions _for now_. I have not been at sea as long as most others. I was not born to it. I've only been a member of this colony for a few months. In time we will likely change, become crueller, harder… both of us. It's the way of our kind."

I didn't like the sound of that. Would I change too, become cruel? According to Riana though, I had at least as long as she – months perhaps. That meant I had time.

"Still, Lilith seems to be excessively so. I've not seen Kiera or Tara act as she does."

Riana sighed. "I wonder that myself sometimes. I even asked Mara once."

I looked to her in surprise.

"Yeah, go me, I grew a backbone. Apparently, Lilith is a first generation mermaid."

"What does that mean?"

She gifted me with a knowing grin. "There are two ways that mermaids can be created. They can be 'turned' – i.e. a human girl suffers from a mermaid's bite and the venom does its work, or," her smile turned condescending, "there's the standard 'birds and the bees' route."

"Oh! I didn't realise that… err, _that_… was possible…" While I fumbled with my words, Cathy joined us where we sat weaving kelp-blankets on the dome's sandy floor.

"It's more than possible," Riana giggled, delighted by my blush. "In some colony's I've heard that it is actively encouraged. Bow-chick-a! Apparently the Quileute's got some bits right, some mermaids _do_ kidnap men to have their way with them." She sobered a bit before she added, "But they don't usually survive the experience. Hence the Quileute legends…"

More quietly, Cathy spoke to my side. "I always assumed that Lilith was turned. I didn't know that we could get pregnant. I didn't know that it was possible."

In that moment, Cathy reminded me uncomfortably of Rosalie and the resemblance wasn't due to the blonde hair, unnatural beauty, or a tendency towards vanity.

The comparison made me uncomfortable, and strangely nostalgic.

I missed Rose.

"Anyway," Riana continued, "as she's first generation, that means she was born and raised in the sea. She has no experience of human life on land; perhaps the lack gives her enough detachment to be so cruel. Maybe she resents the lack of experiences."

"Or maybe," Cathy added, without looking away from her kelp-weave, "she has simply spent far too long at her mother's side and acquired her prejudices. No one hates the land-walkers the way Mara does."

"That's true," Riana conceded.

All three of us lapsed into silence as the muffled screams continued.

…

Sometimes it was only the cool darkness of my cave that gave me the solace I craved. As time passed I'd learnt to detach myself from the hive-mind, and after doing so I did so once, I did it more and more frequently, preferring to be left with my own thoughts and memories.

Relearning my own mind was a confusing and disorienting experience, and so it was that Riana found me, curled into a dark corner of our cave, the way she had that first day.

"Hey, squirt," she trilled.

Despite my obvious desire for peace she swam in with a bright Alice-style grin. Her side of the room was covered in shiny junk, mostly of the automobile variety, odd.

"Have you heard the latest?" she asked as she sifted through a pile of hub-caps.

I groaned, looking up. "Good God, what is it now?"

Riana giggled, obviously delighted as she picked one out and set it aside. "Well, there's been a lot of chatter around the tunnels since we crashed that meeting at First Beach. Memory-switching back and forth, and now, with your memories in the pipe-line, nearly everyone has names for the faces…"

I sighed, not liking where this was going. At first I had worried, considering the extent to which the vampire-werewolf fever had reached, that mermaids would seek to root-out the source of most of our information. I was the one, after all, who had unintentionally provided the colony with each of our new celebrities' names. And there were _thousands_ in our colony.

Riana explained that although a few had wanted to find out who had brought us the original information, the thoughts that had provided the names for the faces had been passed back and forth so often between mermaids that it became impossible to recognise who the memories originally belonged to. _Most_ of them did not know. I was nothing if not relieved.

The Pack and the Cullens could easily deal with their celebrity status' when they were on land and unaware. I was another case; I was stuck in the sea, subject to the crazy masses.

"What are you saying, Riana?" I rubbed at my forehead, feeling all kinds of weary. "Please, I'm really not in the mood for games, just spit it out."

"Well," she grinned, "there are two new fore-runners in the popularity vote. Our sisters are now split between two main contenders."

_Dare I ask? _"Who _are_…?"

"Well, most of the colony is now Team Edward or Team Jacob."

"What?" I stared at her, uncomprehending.

She shrugged lightly with a complete air of nonchalance, though her lips were tightly squashed and light twinkled in her eyes.

"They've started making sashes too." She choked and I wasn't sure if she had actually coughed or if it was a well concealed snort.

"This is ridiculous!" I burst out, throwing my hands up in the water.

A smirk blossomed across her face. "I brought you one."

She offered a thick sash of lime-green leathery weed and I gingerly took it from her.

"Team Edward," I read aloud.

It was even decorated with little fangs. _What are those, shark teeth?_

"You did say you chose the vampire to be your fiancé," Riana said, "Should I go get a Jacob one too? Or perhaps you'd prefer to be one of 'Paul's Pals'?"

"No," I said numbly, still staring at his name. "This is madness."

"You should see little Kali. She's sporting one of each. Looks like a penguin the way she's waddling around. Too much material for one so small, but then she looks so adorable."

I had seen her earlier. The little girl had become as swept up in the chaos as most of the other sisters. Giggling and bouncing about like a fan-girl. She was very pretty, Kali, likely would have been a heart-breaker as an adult. In many ways she reminded me of Rosalie.

Riana's snort broke my trance.

"You're actually enjoying this." I realised with shock, although it was obvious to anyone with eyes. Mirth poured out of the girl.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, although she was anything but. "I'm sorry it's all at your expense, but this _is_ freaking hilarious!"

"This isn't 'freaking hilarious'! This is _my life_!"

Hysterical laughter took hold of the girl and soon she was swaying in the water, clutching her sides and swishing her tail. Anger rose.

"I don't see you wearing a sash?" I snapped. "Not jumping on the band-wagon too?"

Riana expressed only shock, as if I'd asked her to belly-dance for the pope.

"Hell yeah!" she cried, "I'm just waiting for the Team Emmett ones to go on sale."

I sighed, the anger draining from me as I looked over the Team Edward sash. "Well at least the Balthazar-fear doesn't appear to be marring their fun."

Silently, I traced his name, feeling the indentations the letters made, E.D.W-

"You're really worried that he won't want you anymore if he sees you this way," Riana interrupted, "aren't you?" Her voice had mellowed, morphing into sympathy.

"Yes," I said honestly.

Thoughts of Edward always clouded my mind these days; more so since I'd spent more time alone. The pain of being parted from him was starting to increase as well, that old hollow ache I had once known so well was making a disturbing resurgence.

"Well, look at it this way," Riana said, with an attempt at levity, "if he doesn't want you… there are plenty more fish in the sea."

"I'm really not in a joking mood, Riana."

My fingertips followed the A and R and D…

"No," Riana said, "I can see that. I can _feel_ that. Honestly, for a being that is not supposed to feel you do it horribly well. Your current misery could cloud the entire colony. At least you're secluded at the far edge of our main hub or else others would notice."

"Am I really that bad?" I said, already knowing the answer.

Heaving a sigh, Riana joined me on the sandy floor. As she sat a small cloud of dust fluttered around her.

"There is some other news…" she started, carefully, "I'm not supposed to tell you, I overheard it by accident, but then, nothing stays secret for long around here…"

Riana hesitated, and looking up I gently prodded her with a thought.

"Well," she continued, "Mara has been sending the odd scouting group out, only elders, elite sisters, just to keep an eye on the situation in Washington."

"I didn't know."

"Not many do. I accidentally overheard Kiera's thoughts. She was on the last scout…" She was fiddling with her fingers now; nervous. "It appears as though the land-walkers, _your_ land-walkers, the Wolves and the vampires, are attempting to make contact with us."

In an instant I was up, "How?"

"Calm," Riana coaxed, holding her hands up and rising to face me. "If you flip out, Mara will know I told you and I could be punished."

"I am calm," I said, though I wasn't sure, "please tell me what you know."

"There is an ancient method land-walkers used to use to contact us. I'm not quite sure how it works but it's something to do with a specific type of light being shone into the waters of the place they wish to meet over several nights. The people at First Beach have been doing this. It could be coincidence, but Mara is sure it is not. Someone has been calling out too."

"What does this mean?"

"It's an invite," Riana said, eyes steady, "your land-walker family want to meet us."

…

Riana did not have to keep the secret for long. Soon Mara sent Danica and the pair of us were summoned to Mara's chambers where she related as much herself.

Once there, I saw the memory for myself.

_Sam, waving a white flag up on a cliff edge called out, "Hey, we want to talk!" while Jared and Paul angled a huge spotlight onto the waters of First Beach. It looked like something that the Mayor of Gotham City would use to summon Batman, just without the bat symbol. Beside him stood a surly-faced Jacob with arms crossed, and, surprisingly, Jasper._

"It's a trap," Lilith immediately said. "No land-walker can be trusted, especially men."

"That maybe so, child," Mara said, "but this is an opportunity we cannot ignore."

"You mean you _want_ to meet them?" I gasped. I had not intended to speak but the words slipped out.

Mara's black eyes pierced me in place. "I think that we must."

"Let me go to them." The words just kept falling out.

The room fell silent. The meeting was small, just like the gathering that had assembled to eavesdrop at First beach. Mara hovered by a sea-smoothed stone throne and beside her was Kiera and Danica. Lilith kept to one side, perched on a stone-slab table and Riana and I knelt by the doorway. There were only three others whose names I was unsure of, one was Fi.

"You know I cannot," Mara said, and for once her voice seemed to be gentle.

I still held my Team Edward sash in my hands, I had been holding it when Riana and I had been called upon and had not set it down. Now my fingers twisted it nervously.

"You cannot return to them. Even if I let you and even if they accepted you back into their fold without question… you cannot leave the sea. You would die if you tried."

The pang of loss echoed hollowly in my chest, but I said nothing more. She was right.

_Damn gills_, I breathed deeply in the water, allowing them to filter out the oxygen. _With them I cannot breathe normal air, like a fish on land I would suffocate_.

"I cannot let you go to them," Mara continued, "but I _do_ wish you to join the group I will be sending to meet with these land-walkers. I think that it is important that you are there. I see that now. We will gain no peace from them until they know that you are safe."

I couldn't believe it. Was I really hearing this? Wordless, I gaped.

"It will be risky though," Mara continued, frowning, "only qualified hunters must go, we cannot take our younger sisters. They are inexperienced and naïve. And the presence of any initiate that may cave to their blood-lust when faced with humans could be ruinous."

It took me a moment to understand her meaning. Then it became clear. This meeting wasn't just dangerous for us, but them: the tribe with their beating hearts and fresh blood.

"We should attempt to leave the humans unharmed I suppose," Lilith pouted, as if this were a serious inconvenience, "assuming their intentions are sound. We don't want to sour any potential relations with the vampires or shape-shifters."

_Especially now that we know of Balthazar's involvement_, someone thought, and a vague cloud of hatred fogged up our minds. Mara dusted it aside.

"How do you wish us to precede, mam?" Kiera then asked.

"Must we go?" Fi interrupted, fear overtaking her. "What if we just ignore their call?"

"No," Mara said, running a finger along her lips, deep in thought, back and forth, back and forth… "There is an ancient clause that I had thought was long forgotten by those people, and we are under contract to come if they summon us – using their light. We are obliged to meet, at least to hear what they have to say."

"If they wish to," Mara added quietly, "then we will meet. But it will be on _our_ terms."

Turning to Kiera, her stance transformed, suddenly becoming very serious.

"You will take a squadron of fifty sisters: Ten to meet and greet and the rest in reserve, in case of trouble. Kiera, my love, I believe that you are the best equipped to lead this foray."

Smiling, she faced the girl with flowing blond hair and gently caressed her cheek.

"Your voice can calm even the most battle-hardened warrior. Lead the way and treat with them. Lull them to complacency. Weigh the odds in _our_ slow, don't startle them. And the rest of you must keep out of sight until Kiera gives the signal. Let her lure them in first, like moths to a flame."

Riana caught my confusion.

_Kiera is a Singer_, she added as an aside, _there is a reason Giovanni named her such_.

I still did not understand, but my confusion was pushed aside as Mara's words sunk in, and as she continued talking it all became more and more frightening. Finally, I spoke up.

"This sounds more like a plan for attack than a neutral meeting, Mara."

Dark eyes pinned me in place. "Of course it is not," she said, calmly, "they claim they want to meet peacefully and we will honour that claim. However," she said, and her eyes grew impossibly darker, "any signs of hostility and we can, of course, retaliate in kind."

In her head she imagined carnage: the cleaving of flesh and the sweet zing of blood. She condoned any lethal action whether warranted or not. I shivered, she was actively encouraging us to attack any human males we came in close contact with, despite her words of peaceful meetings. And around me, my sister's thoughts were dark and red.

"What of the hunter?" Kiera interrupted the growing haze.

My sisters were yearning for blood.

"Balthazar owes me many live," Mara said, almost placidly, "but I will settle for his. If the land-walkers wish to reach a compromise then I will consider any deal that will give us him. If not, then if any one of you is presented with the opportunity to snatch him, do…"

The elder sisters nodded in unison. Kiera spoke. "We will bring him to you, my queen."

…

**So, many of you have asked: when will Edward and Bella will meet? SOON!**

**Next chapter is the start of bigger things. It's split into 3 parts (to help me as I have deadlines that I keep putting off to write ff :s). But, and I say this tentatively, starting with the next post I will try for a triple update in one week, so hopefully you will get all of it quickly. After all, I managed the double update before. :)**

**Next chapter title: 'The Battle for First Beach – Part I'**


	23. Chapter 23 - Battle for First Beach Pt1

**Loved the awesome messages this week! Thanks for such wonderful support; it means more than you know. Nemma :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. Additional disclaimer for some of the points of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides plot that I am… err… borrowing, in upcoming chapters. **

**Note: the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with the mermaids is what inspired this story. I watched it **_**a lot**_** when I started to write. There isn't a full clip on YouTube but there are pieces. **

…

Chapter 23: The Battle for First Beach, Part 1 – BPOV

Remembering back to the little pep-talk Mara had given earlier, I mentally revised her words: _Start slow, don't startle them. Keep out of sight until Kiera gives the signal. Let her lure them in first, like moths to a flame._

Moths to a flame…

If Kiera's reputation held true the Quileutes would be powerless to her charms. Though I still did not understand Riana's words – she said that Kiera was our singer? Her voice was supposed to lull them into complacency. If she screeched the way the rest of us did then she would be doing anything but 'lulling' them.

As we swam through the darkness our green eyes glowed eerily and black shadows flashed and darted, our scales catching in the odd ray of moonlight. First Beach was not far now, and as we closed the distance my stomach churned and roiled. I was so close to home I could practically _smell_ it: resin and pine and rain, the scents of damp air and forests. Would I see Sam waiting for us on the beach? What about Carlisle, or Jake, or Edward? …Would I have to face them? …._like this_…? And that question led me to another train of thought. Did they already know what I was, what had happened? Had they figured it out? They seemed to know more about mermaids than I had ever thought. They were trying to contact them – us.

"What is that?" Riana clicked in our mermaid tongue.

Turning I saw her gesture to a faint glow in the waters far ahead.

"Whale oil burners," Kiera said, with a surprisingly grim air as blond hair streamed around her. "The lights are to draw us in. Mermaids are attracted to man-made light, or so their legends say," she explained with a hard frown. "Personally I do not see its allure."

As a unit we surfaced, carefully surveying the well-lit beach. We were a good mile away, far out to sea. Even at this distance our heads crested the waves with barely a sound.

"Perhaps it is the way it causes the water to sparkle," Riana clicked, voice dazed as she watched the light dance with the tide, "like diamonds."

"So this is clearly an invitation," Lilith said, with snake-like satisfaction. "We'd best not disappoint them."

Kiera was not nearly as enthused. Her grim countenance caused my already churning stomach to roil and the nerves under my skin to spark like static.

They were so close now, within reach. On the pebbles people wandered up and down. A large fire had been lit in the bay's centre but the main signal fire, the one aimed at the waters, was perched on the cliff top I had once jumped from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Keep your wits about you, girls," Kiera clicked, "and remember, land-walkers can be dangerous… even the sparkly ones," she added, with a pointed glance in my direction.

I didn't nod.

Diving once again we swam closer, keeping below the surface. As we neared the beach, Kiera veered us over to an outcrop of rocks by the southern cliffs and took my arm in hand.

_Come with me_, she silently commanded, her green eyes boring into mine.

Together, we silently surfaced and subtly viewed the bay. There were many people there, more than just the Pack or the Cullens – both of which I could not spot, even as my eyes darted from person to person. They paced, they fed the fires and gathered nets. Groups of them appeared to be climbing into row boats and pushing themselves off into the bay's water.

_Were they mad?!_ I stared, wide-eyed. _They were taking to the water?_

_How else are they supposed to treat with us_, Kiera answered. Aloud she said, "Do you recognise any of them, young Xoco?"

Looking carefully over the gathered men – only men, as far as I could tell – I had to admit that none looked familiar. Not even vaguely. Were they Quileute?

"No…" I said slowly, wanting to be sure. "They all look like tribe fisherman. I cannot see any of the Pack amongst the people in the boats. And there are definitely no vampires."

And I didn't know whether that was a bad or a good thing.

"I suppose the treaty could have been put back in place. Maybe the Cullens are no longer allowed on these lands... Are you sure that this is the right place?" I added uncertainly.

"It is. They spoke of First Beach; they _call_ from First Beach with their light. But this is odd," Kiera frowned, "Why are the ones that propose this meeting not here…?"

"Perhaps they keep to the shore," Lilith murmured, bobbing up low behind us.

"What about Balthazar?" another sister chirped, "do you see him?"

No… I could not, and neither could Kiera. But he had been so clear in that memory we had been shown. He had been stood, side by side with Sam and Jacob and Jasper as they directed the signal light out to sea and called on us to meet with them.

"Keep a weather-eye open," Kiera said, warily, "I am not sure that I like this."

Kiera had us retreat to a safe distance while she debated the situation with her two eldest sisters: Danica with her beautiful mocha skin and ink-black hair, and another girl with dark-fringed eyes that were up-tilted like a cats. As they hissed and clicked, communicating with fleeting images that were too fast to pin-point, I sat on the sandy ocean floor beside Riana and Lilith. We were only six of the ten that made up 'the first wave' – the ones that were supposed to go and greet the men who were calling us, whoever they were. Why that was up for debate was surprising. Where were Sam and Jasper? If they had organised this why weren't they on the beach? Had I missed them? I didn't think so. Besides, Kiera had set a watch, and the girls that were keeping an eye out had very clear memories of every one of the Pack and the Cullens – they couldn't miss them. So where were they?

"The rest of the troops are getting restless," Riana whispered as she fidgeted and tore hunks of kelp to shreds. When I looked up she nodded towards the west, where our others nervously awaited instruction. Forty pairs of glowing green eyes lit the darkness.

"What are we waiting for anyway?" Lilith hissed, "It's not like we _aren't_ going to talk to them. So what's the hold up? I don't want to wait down here anymore. I want to go _now_."

Mara had taken her aside before we left. "Take care, my love," she had said, "I cannot bear to lose you." I wondered if she'd heed her advice. Lilith was a wild-card at the best of times; impulsive and violent and definitely _not_ careful.

"Perhaps Kiera is concerned for our safety, she…" I trailed away as Lilith continued to mock-mimic my words like a child. In some ways she was just your average high-schooler.

"Patience," Lucrezia cooed from or left, "you will see them soon enough."

More time passed and the waiting was excruciating. It felt like live wires were sparking beneath my skin, writhing and prickling. The nervous anticipation of the other mermaids did nothing to help and the proximity to land was making me skittish and edgy and if I had to wait any longer I might just snap!

Edward was close; I could feel it in my bones, even if I had not yet seen him with my eyes. And with his closeness my heart seemed to come back to life. With each beat it drummed awareness into my body, filling me with energy that I had no way to dissipate. I had to find him. I had to go to him. I had to _be_ with him. Damn the cost!

This was what I should have been thinking all along. This was what being in the colony, in the hive-mind, suppressed. But the feeling had always been there, whatever Mara said about mermaid emotions, writhing beneath the surface. She could never take it away.

I was meant to be with Edward. I was meant to be on land with my family, and Jake.

The only thing that kept me here now was the mass of sisters that would haul me back to the deep in seconds flat if they heard my resolve… If they had not been so preoccupied with their own thoughts they may have already noticed mine. I had to restrain myself!

_Calming thoughts_, I coached myself. _Think of sea and fish and mermaidy things_.

It worked, to an extent, and more time passed. Beside me one girl huffed in agitation while another complained that she was hungry and wanted to eat. It was not fish that she pictured in her thoughts.

"Alright, girls," Kiera said and she suddenly appeared before me, "it's time."

Like the others, I cleared my thoughts, focussing only on what I saw and what we planned to do. This would be simple: meet, talk and leave… That was the plan. _Their_ plan.

Nine of us trailed quietly after Kiera while the rest followed our sight with their minds, staying back. I blocked out the other silent voices, listening only to Kiera's.

_Follow_, she entreated, _follow close_…

Above us the hulls of wooden row-boats rocked and splashed, and the sounds of men muttering or coughing were muffled by water. We passed under ten boats, at least, before we reached the large circle of light at the centre of the bay – from their signal fire.

When we hovered at its periphery, Kiera whispered. _Stay here until I call…_

Then she flitted away into the darkness. Enhanced vision allowed me to see her and I watched, blood rushing through my ears, as she took a final steadying breath.

She was going to greet them. _How though?_ I wondered. _How will she talk when she cannot speak clearly?_ Beside me, Riana shrugged.

The boat she chose to approach lay just outside their web of light and its occupants were weighed down with lethargy – one snored softly, already asleep.

Kiera's cornflower head emerged. Like an ethereal spectre she barely broke the waves; so subtle and so silent that at first she went unnoticed. Her lithe movements caused only faint ripples as she stealthily crept up to the little dingy, lifted her arms over the sides, and rested them lightly on the wood to watch the males within sleepily stir.

How long had they been waiting for us to appear? It must have been a while judging by their state of stupor. The notion soothed Kiera, dulling the edge of danger and she looked on them then almost fondly.

_Like lambs_, she mused._ In sleep they look almost kind_.

One man, with his face propped on his hand, watched her dreamily. A languid smile stretched across his stubbly face, then he blinked once, twice, and his eyes grew wider.

She offered up a tentative, shy smile – the epitome of sweetness.

And his mouth dropped open.

As if it possessed a life of its own, his arm reached out behind him. Without tearing his eyes away he grabbed blindly until his hand made contact with another's coat, at which point he yanked hard. The other man fell back with a thud.

"Oy, Hank," he growled. Struggling to his feet he swayed the boat and woke the others. "What the Hell are you…? Oh," he trailed off as his eyes caught her too, "whoa."

They stared at her as if ensorcelled by some spell. _Moths to a flame…_

I could only imagine the effect Kiera wrought on their poor hearts.

She laughed lightly at their astonishment and slipped back into the waves, flipping her tail gently as she manoeuvred sleekly under their vessel, heading for the other side.

The five men reacted desperately; as if floored by the loss of her, they flung themselves forward, rocking the boat precariously, just in time to see her tail disappearing underneath. Others awoke then, groggy and confused in nearby boats. One called out, asking if they were alright. But the occupants of Kiera's boat didn't seem to notice. They were too preoccupied.

"What's going on?" one huffed.

"Did you see her? It was mermaid I'm sure of it!"

"Where?!"

"Where did she go?"

As a group the five men scrabbled to the sides of the dingy. Casting about frantically to gain another glimpse of her beauty, they endangered themselves by their proximity to the waves. She already had them enthralled. And all it had taken was one look and a laugh.

"Pull yourselves together, men!" an older man with a scruffy white beard ordered. He yanked one back into his seat. "That's what they want, for you to lose your wits! Remember, mermaids maybe sweet but their fangs are devilishly sharp, so _keep your_ _heads_."

_Do they not think that we can hear them? _Kiera scoffed as she hovered underneath the hull. _They speak as if we have no ears!_

During the white-bearded one's little rant Kiera re-emerged and cocked her head quizzically, displaying a little frown, the personification of innocence and naivety.

_Hmm, they have been well warned_, she mused.

_By whom…? _another sister asked, Danica, _Balthazar? _She shivered. _Are these _his_ men?_

I cast out to Kiera's thoughts, she bore the same worry as our other elder-sister, although, she concealed it well, hiding it in her playfully sweet expression.

When the men failed to notice her immediately she clicked quietly with her tongue.

All heads swivelled to face her – and stared. This time she had not propped herself on their boat's rail but hovered in the water a few feet away. The moment seemed to last forever, then, one, a younger man with a freshly shaven chin and silky brown locks, smiled at her.

"Hello," he said quietly, shifting carefully closer.

At least one of them was willing to disregard the old man and give Kiera her chance. Her smile widened in response, but she did not show her teeth, hiding their predatory glint.

"Can you speak?" he asked. "…What's your name?"

She said nothing, only stared at him with that same mix of curiosity and innocence.

"You can come closer," he encouraged, reaching out with a tanned hand, "please don't be frightened. We mean you no harm, we just want to talk. That's why we lit the fire."

Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings and she cocked her head a little, as if trying to understand his words. Beguiling and sweet: she emitted those concepts like pheromones.

_Trust me_, she silently entreated – while Lilith sneered that Randall would be jealous.

As if she had spoken aloud, the boy leaned forward, over the boat's side, and gestured gently with his hand. "Come on," he said, "it's alright."

Sleekly drifting through the water, Kiera closed the distance between herself and the boat. The boy beamed, delighted, while behind him the other men stared and the older one grumbled, his hand moving to the belt at his thigh – and the black holster there.

"Are you the one who calls for us?" Kiera asked meekly, looking up from beneath her dark lashes at the man. The words seemed to thrum through the air between them, pulsing and alive with each seductive click. "Are you my long lost love?"

"Y-yes," the man muttered, and in that moment shock overrode all else.

He understood her! But… she had not spoken in English, was incapable of doing so above the waves. Her words were that of our clicking mermaid tongue.

_She speaks to him_, Lilith murmured beside me, _mind to mind. It is how we ensnare our male prey. You would know as much if you had allowed me to teach you how to hunt them_.

I ignored her, watching only Kiera.

"I-I mean _yes_ I am the one who calls," the man stammered, blushing profusely, "I, that is to say _we_," he gestured vaguely at his comrades without looking away, "wish to talk with you, with all of you."

"What are you doing, lad? What are saying?" the older man growled. "She didn't even speak! She just _clicked_ at you."

"She did speak. Didn't you hear her?" he said, his brow indenting. "I understood her…"

The old man muttered something that sounded like 'witchcraft'.

"Ask her about the disappearances then," old white-beard huffed, "if you understand that gibberish so well, ask her about the murders and the missing girls. Ask her where they have gone. Ask her about the Chief's daughter. Ask!"

By now, many of the other boats were watching, and on the shore a silhouetted line of figures stood and stared. In the glare of the signal fire's spotlight I could make out no faces.

The boy in the boat shook his head, dispersing his glazed gaze somewhat, and when he looked back at Kiera he gently coaxed, "there are some things we need to talk to you about."

"Why talk when you can sing?" she cooed.

And tilting her head skyward she began to sing. There was no high, grating screech. No mermaid voice, but that of a siren, sweet and alluring, and filled with promise and possibility.

Kiera was our Singer; I understood now. And it was frightening to observe the affect her voice had; even as I was drawn by its beauty I was left shaking. It caught on the night air and pulled those listening closer. As one, the sailors leaned towards the side of the boat, towards the sound, towards the false sense of security and serenity she conveyed. It flowed through me too and hooked deep, chiming in a double decibel and echoing back on itself. The effect only served to enhance its beauty. And with it, she called her sisters forth…

_Come now_, Kiera's mental voice coaxed, while she did not as much as pause for breath.

Her melodic timbre was hauntingly beautiful, more so than any vampire's. And I could even feel my own body succumbing to her charms. So as she sang I followed the others.

Tentatively peeking around, I barely allowed my eyes above the surface. I was not the only one, nine other heads emerged, and with their sea-darkened hair, wet as it was, it made it difficult to distinguish one sister from another. Drifting out of the mist, we stirred the waters and scanned the boat's occupants through our own eyes. Five men, young and old, all unfamiliar, some were of the tribe, others… no. One looked to be African, another Caucasian.

On instinct we began to move, swimming in near synchronisation, clockwise around the vessel, and edging ever closer as Kiera's voice graced the night sky above.

We swum in and out of the tide, surfacing and twirling in the waters, our movements carefree but regimented, like a dance. The thrill of the unison rang through my veins and sang in my blood. It was instinctive; I could no more halt my actions than I could stop breathing. We were magnificent creatures, to be admired and revered. That is what we presented them with: fresh, pure, innocent beauty. We portrayed the naivety of damsels in distress, our eyes crying out for salvation at their hands. They and only they could help us. We needed them: their protection, their kindness, their strong embrace… to lead them into the dark.

Kiera's song carried high and sibilant on the night air, rising up to the full bright moon.

As we swam I scanned the vessel and those surrounding it, looking for a familiar face. None stood out above the others; none claimed my interest for long. One sailor caught my eye, and I paused. It wasn't because I knew him. I had never seen him before in my life. It was just that the way he was looking at me was so surprising; his eyes travelled the length of my face and lower still as undisguised appreciation filled his eyes. The look confused me, stalling me. And in my innocence I could not immediately place a name to that look.

"Hello, sweetheart," he murmured, sounding drunk.

Surprised at his address, I smiled back at the man. He had dark hair, though not so dark, with a reddish bronze tint that reminded me of Edward. The thought widened my smile.

"Come closer," he coaxed, "it's okay."

It was. We were here to meet with them peacefully after all. Drifting closer I scanned his features. He was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties, and his face appeared kind and caring. The set of his jawline had a lantern edge and a light spray of stubble trailed across his chin down to his neck… where his treacherous blood pulsed, and pulsed, and pulsed.

_Ba-dum… ba-dum… ba-dum…_

Red blood lay thick and heavy within that vein; that exposed carotid that thrummed within his neck, just under the skin. The scent caught and thickened the air, stirring something within me that I had no name to describe. I needed to be closer to him, I needed…

Without releasing it, I had reached his boat and laid my hands on the side.

Gazes locked, the urge to reach out to him, to caress that razored cheek was almost undeniable. He would let me, I knew, he would lean into my palm and slowly shift forward, closing the gap between my lips and his… between my teeth and his neck…

As he leaned close I withdrew as instinct dictated. He easily closed the distance, until I moved again. If I led him to the sea he would undoubtedly follow without a word of protest…

"Beautiful," he murmured faintly, his eyes locked to my lips, "so very beautiful…"

The blood thrummed in the air until I could hear nothing else, until I wanted nothing else. The heady orange blossom of Mike's scent seemed pallid compared to this man's spicy tang. And trapped as he was in my black-widow's gaze I could see that he wanted nothing more than to grant my every desire. I could lead him to oblivion and he would have no care.

Around me I could hear the faint murmurings of other sisters to other men, all the same, all with that faint and undeniable promise. They would lead them all into the depths.

His blood sang to me, thrumming sweetly through his veins, its scent catching on the air and saturating my senses. Blinding me to my actions and the cost they would reap.

Nothing mattered, nothing but the sweet smell of his pulsing blood.

_Allow me what I want_, I pleaded through my mind, desperate to sate this new craving.

"Anything," he murmured, to my faint surprise, "I will give you anything and everything you want."

The red-tinted haze that coloured my vision was thickening, congealing. And his tender neck was travelling closer and closer.

_I will give you anything and everything_, he'd said. But what if I asked for his life?

From the shore there was shouting, arm waving, but none here paid any attention.

Another voice spoke up, closer. It barely broke through the crimson haze.

"We… we wish t-to broker a peace between our kind and yours…" the man who was facing Kiera said, shaking his head as if to clear it, "to make a treaty…"

The statement took Kiera off guard. "Indeed?" she asked with brows raised as she tenderly stroked his cheek. The sailor leant into her touch, his eyes drooping.

Then there was a click; Separate and distinct from my sister's coos; A subtle sound that, to most, went unnoticed. But to me it was like the ice shattering on a frozen lake.

In the same second, my head whipped to the side, disregarding my own sailor, and I saw with horrifying clarity what had made that noise.

Old white-beard had a gun, and it was aimed directly at Kiera.

The spell of the sailor's blood-scent broke.

Kiera paused, gazing obliviously at her own sailor with true curiosity.

"Well, my lost love," she smiled, serenely, "That offer is-"

The man with the gun chambered a bullet.

And I saw red. Fangs flashed down and a feral screech pierced the air. With startling speed I launched myself out of the water and ploughed into him, directing the gun arm up to the sky. It fired once before we crashed back into the surf in a mess of tangled limbs.

If I'd have blinked I'd have missed it.

And Kiera would have been dead.

That realisation did not take long to settle on all the sisters as their disoriented thoughts channelled into mine. Fifty pairs of fangs flashed down. And then all Hell broke loose.

…


	24. Chapter 24 - Battle for First Beach Pt2

**Thank you, lovely people, for all of the encouragement! Hope you enjoy the chapter, it's a meaty one. :) Nemma.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. Additional disclaimer for some of the points of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides plot that I am… err… borrowing, in upcoming chapters. **

…

Chapter 24: The Battle for First Beach, Part 2 – BPOV

_Betrayal! Fight! Betrayal! Kill! Rip! Tear!_

Fifty voices were screaming in my head. And no one was heeding anyone. All sense of order was gone, evaporated into the ether as chaos took control.

_Betrayal! Fight! Betrayal! Kill! Rip! Tear!_

There was no structure, no order to our thoughts – just absolute pandemonium. We wanted to rip, we wanted to tear at flesh and relish in the sweet tang of dying blood. We wanted to make these land-walkers suffer for daring to attack our own.

The urge to concede, to give in and allow the mass to dictate was almost overwhelming.

But this wasn't me, these weren't my thoughts. _Not my own!_

I crammed fists against my ears, squeezing my eyes shut and cringing as I sank. The voices _wouldn't stop_. Of course they wouldn't, they were in my head! Even my mental screaming was drowned by the sheer fury, the hate and blood-lust. Oh, the blood-lust…

I could smell it now too; blood was permeating the water, flowing freely.

Oh, God no! This wasn't happening.

…

With the emergence of the gun we had vanished, disappearing into the depths with hisses and shrieks as the other sailors scrambled to the sides of their vessels, searching the water.

"Where'd they go?" one man cried, sounding distraught.

I knew how he felt, the lure was a two-way thing, and when we broke from it, it whiplashed like an elastic band pulled too far and then released.

"You had a gun?!" another voice shouted. "What the Hell, Greg. Greg...? Hey, did anyone see him surface? Where is he?"

"Come back," the distraught man called to the waters.

"He scared them off, the moron! Now, we'll never get another chance."

Scared us they had, but more than that they had enraged us, and we were far from gone.

They didn't notice when the first was ripped from their boat. They were still arguing, arms gesturing angrily as they shouted. The boy disappeared into the surf and I felt my sister's teeth as they pierced his neck. It was so quick that he didn't even have time to utter one scream. The second man made a louder splash. And he _did_ scream.

That was when they took notice.

But by then, my other sisters had arrived, the forty we held in reserve. And it was not only the vessel at the centre of the light that bore the brunt of their wrath. All in the water would be held accountable for the actions of that one white-bearded man. All would pay…

…

The screeches escalated as men's shouts and the blast of gun-fire pierced the air above. Muffled by the water, the sound was muted to me, where I crouched on the sea-bed.

Above, my sister's flitted in ever more erratic circles, and three of them slammed into the side of a boat, tossing all of its occupants into the unforgiving tide. They splashed and flailed as the mermaids closed in. One by one they pulled them under.

I had been such a coward before, when I had sat back while Lilith butchered that poor man on the beach, and I was a coward now – debilitated by my own fears. I was just sitting here, watching, while more innocents died above, because no matter what my sisters thought, these men _were_ innocent. Only one had fired; the others had reprimanded him for it… and if he hadn't his companions would have been drawn into the sea. He had protected his own.

That knowledge filled me with guilt. I had protected no one before. I had watched my sisters kill and done nothing. But then, Mike had survived. I had made an effort for him. Why could I not make that same effort again? Back when I had been human I had willingly given my life to James to save my mother. I would have given my life to save Edward in Volterra…

Edward. He had always said I was so selfless, so self-sacrificing… what would he think of me now?

The resolution came hard and fast. _This_ time I would act, _this _time I would not sit by and watch while my sisters committed murder! I would do something, save someone…

Red mist coloured the water, saturating it with such a sublime fragrance that, for a moment, I was almost pulled under… No! No, I did not want it. I wouldn't take it.

_But it is so sweet_, my sister's called, _it will nourish and sustain you. It is yours by right._

"No…" I moaned.

And with a burst of speed I propelled myself up, closer to the surface.

Blood, there was so much. It was everywhere and the cries were that much louder.

Maybe I shouldn't try. It was very risky to try and save anyone. I might grab someone with the intention of dragging them to safety, only to bury my fangs in their neck.

I shivered, and couldn't tell if it was due to nausea or pleasure. At this point, my will hung on a knife's edge, any provocation, any deviation and I could so easily fall off either side – save or slaughter? The monster in my head cheered at the thought of how close she was to getting the carnage she so desired. And I had to admit, her chances were pretty good.

_I should leave while I am still sane enough to_. My lucidity and focus were ebbing away with the flow of the tide. And the blood that flowed was so rich and thick…

_Join us, sister. Just one taste…_

"No," I moaned.

_You must! Wreak the revenge your sister's desire. Make them pay for their dishonesty! _

I did not answer after that. I focused only on my own thoughts. It was the only way to maintain sanity. Holding my breath, and taking fleeting gasps through my mouth, I managed to block out most of that horridly divine stench as I manoeuvred my way in the dark. And to think, while I'd been human the slightest hint of blood would have made me sick.

Somehow I had moved to the far south of the bay, closest to the rocky cliffs. The area was shrouded in darkness, but up ahead, closer to where that spotlight beamed down onto the bay, the colours of my sister's tails became more distinct. They dodged swinging oars and shouting men and dived beneath boats as they screamed their anger.

I drifted closer. The boats rocked and the currents of the water swirled, indicating the hectic passage of mermaids all around. I still had not surfaced. It seemed to be a good idea. Two sisters flew past, grappling over a man who had long-since stopped moving. Was that white-beard? I quickly turned away before I could see too closely. I caught the thread of their thoughts though – they were no longer human but savage and beastly.

"SAM," a muffled voice cried above the waves, "Sam, what the hell do we do?!"

That voice was familiar. My head snapped up, searching above, zeroing in on the caller.

Seth; his was the only face I recognised in the group of a small boat that was fiercely under siege. The six men fought off raking claws and fanged snarls with oars alone.

If I was going to try to save anyone it'd be him.

Swishing my tail, I shot toward him. I was angry then, what were they doing placing him out here in this danger. Werewolf genes be damned. He was only fifteen!

Someone – it looked like Riana – tore from the tide and slammed into the side of the vessel with a ferocious scream. The force she exerted was vast and the attack sounded like a crack of thunder across the bay. Seth was flung back, propelled into the water along with the other men. I saw the abject terror that flashed across his face before the waves claimed him.

And my sisters stirred the water in a bloody frenzy.

Like sharks

I smelt it more strongly then, the free-flowing blood, as their ravenous thoughts coupled with my own. That uncontrollable scent was urging them on. People were hurt, badly, and the smell was driving the mermaids wild.

The predator hidden at the back of my mind raged to life, urging me to join the fray, to rip limb from limb, to drain them dry and let the ocean have the rest. I cringed at the mental imagery assaulting me from all directions. Some weren't merely ideas, they were occurring in real-time. I wouldn't do that, I couldn't. By sheer force of will I pushed all thoughts away.

_Seth_, I fought to think straight, _get to Seth_.

Werewolf or human, he would have no chance in the water. I had to get him to shore.

Before I could think of anything else I darted in the direction I had seen him fall, praying I hadn't taken too long to collect myself, praying that another mermaid hadn't gotten to him first. I flitted at speed, flying past rocks and other flashing tails in the murky deep, searching relentlessly while trying desperately to avoid the clouds of crimson blooming in all directions. I started to panic, I could see little else but blood. And I was taking too long.

_Where is he?!_

I tried to think coherently, to map a search-pattern while suppressing the panic.

The panic consumed.

Off to my left two sisters tore into the neck of a screaming Quileute while what looked like a leg floated past on my right. What disturbed me most was that I didn't even feel sick at the sight, I felt ravenous. Then I felt upset _because_ I felt ravenous, I _should_ feel sick.

Mermaid mind-sets, Gah!

_How long had it been now? _I couldn't see anything in the blood-fog. It was too thick… and far too sweet. It shouldn't be sweet!

Resolutely and with increasing despair, I dived deeper, hoping to gain perspective. When I reached the seabed I crouched behind a boulder, grating my nails along its granite as I stared desolately at the carnage above. It must be chaos up there, where air met sky.

Any tears I could have shed would disappear into the saltwater before they could even exist. I wanted to cry, I wanted to break-down and sob, but I wasn't even sure if mermaids could. Everything I had been told said we were hard, cruel creatures. It wasn't even a fight above now; the only way I could think to describe it was a massacre, an underwater-abattoir.

There were flashes of light above the water, which lit up the night air, followed by muffled bangs: More gun-fire. The chaos had escalated, and I hadn't found Seth. I wanted to close my eyes and pretend this wasn't happening. It was too much…

Just then I saw the flailing limbs of a young human. I leant forward. It was a boy, about fifteen; he was fighting against the tide that was tossing him precariously close to the razor-sharp rocks of the northern cliff-edge. It might not be Seth, but it was a start. I was already moving, even if it wasn't Seth it was _someone_, someone I could help to get out.

I wasn't the only one to spot him. From the shallows, a blonde mermaid with a blood- smeared mouth darted from the fog. I picked up speed. I had intended to take my time and drag him out with relative ease; I wouldn't get that luxury now.

Sinking below the waves, the boy turned and saw her too, and as he screamed out a string of bubbles a gun-shot flashed above and illuminated his face – it _was_ Seth.

I flew forward with renewed panic, beating my tail frantically.

She was inches from him when I slammed into his side, catapulting us both up from the sea and several feet above the waves towards the spot-lit centre of the bay.

Absolute terror overtook me as I recognised the force I'd used – the same with which other mermaids hunted. With them it was designed to incapacitate prey, to knock air from lungs and to break ribs. I hoped I hadn't broken his. That'd make me the worst rescuer ever.

The next second I couldn't think anymore. The volume of noise and activity was ear-splitting. I was right; it was absolute chaos up here, all fire and darkness and flashing teeth and angry yells. And I was flying through it all – not the best place to be in the midst of a gun-battle.

Worrying for Seth's safety, I grappled with him to secure my hold. He wasn't co-operating. As we fell back to the water he struggled, and we were a mass of flailing limbs. With some success I managed to lock my hands around his waist.

Above the incoherent roar, I thought I heard a woman yell, "Seth!"

I tucked my head into the crook of his neck to lock my position, barely registering what this would look like to onlookers, and twisted to take the brunt of the hit as we slammed back into the water. Before we were submerged I heard the voice again. "Seth! NO!"

There was no mistaking, it was Leah.

Seth didn't scream, he just fought, grunting with the effort. His elbow slammed into my ribs with jarring force and I nearly lost my hold, but I ignored the pain and kept my arms locked. I spun and darted away. Unsure of exactly where I was I tried to go in a straight line, reasoning that I would find my bearings away from the chaos. Seth landed a few more blows and my eyes blurred with the pain, but as I held him fast from behind there was little damage he could do… I hoped. Could wolves phase in the water? He trembled violently but didn't seem able to. That was one blessing, at least. A supernaturally strong human I could just about contend with, a ten-tonne wolf would be something else.

Soon the blood-fog cleared and I recognised rock formations. I darted between weeds and rocks. Seth's struggles lessened. Perhaps he was starting to accept his capture.

It wasn't until I had swum us out of the war-torn bay and into the next blissfully quite one that I realised his head had slumped… _Crap! _He wasn't breathing.

He was human, essentially; he needed air. Of course! How stupid I was to forget.

As rescuers went, I really was the worst.

I paused, spinning him to face me

"Seth?" I shook him and flitted to the surface.

Breaking the water, I grasped his cheeks and turned his head up. He didn't gasp, he didn't do anything. I really was awful at this – Edward made it look so easy.

Holding his nose, I leant him back and breathed into his mouth. Attempting CPR whilst in the ocean was a lot more difficult than it looked. Was I doing it right? After a minute or so of trying, my panic was somewhere up in the stratosphere. _Should I try slapping him?_

He coughed, spewing a fountain of water and gasping again and again, drawing in ragged, gritty breaths. I could have wept with relief. Some kind of strangled gasp did escape my lips and as he choked up more water I began to tow him back towards the shore at a much slower pace, being careful now to keep his head above the waves.

The fighting was far behind now; I couldn't hear any of my sisters in this new bay. Of course they were preoccupied elsewhere. When we were about twenty feet from shore Seth gasped in earnest, and renewed his struggles.

"Seth, I'm trying to help you," I tried to say indignantly. But all that came out was a strangled screech that hurt even my ears. Mermaid voices, gah!

At the noise he struggled in earnest. Squirming from my hold, he flipped to face me and I jumped back, arms raised.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Bella?!" he gasped before sinking below the water. With a kick he was back up and he quickly established a good rhythm to hold himself in place.

Thoughts about a werewolf doing the doggy paddle flitted through my mind but it was hardly the time for humour. Instead, I pointed mutely to the isolated shore.

He followed my gesture and looked back, still in shock.

"Err… yeah," he mumbled, running a hand through his sopping wet hair, "we should… err… Yeah, you're right, we need to go…"

He reached for my hand but I swum back, dipping deeper into the water. I shook my head sadly. I couldn't leave the water. _That_ was the problem.

"But… we can't stay here," Seth implored.

I completely agreed and nodded with emphasis, gesturing again to the shore with more vehemence. Moving forward I gave him a push.

Realisation struck and Seth looked upset.

"I'm not leaving without you, Bella. Do you have any idea what people have been going through looking for you! Charlie's distraught, the Pack's out at all hours searching, the Cullen's were-" he paused, "Not to mention Jake and Edward, they're going crazy!"

All I could do was grimace; I couldn't respond with words even if I had them.

"Err, why are you in the sea?" he said with a frown.

I watched him with mute disbelief. _What kind of question was that?_

"Oh my God, I have to get you out of here!" he gasped, flailing, "I know this might be hard to believe but there are _mermaids_ in the next bay, and they're-"

I phased out the rest of his words then, as he began on a tirade of frantic babbling. He hadn't connected the dots yet, or was refusing to. He didn't realise what I was. I frowned. Maybe I'd hit his head during my impromptu rescue, or maybe he'd swallowed too much seawater. It was pretty damn obvious what I was.

Miserably I pointed again to the shore, while he continued.

"Nu-uh," he stated, "No way, I'm not going anywhere without you-"

I didn't let him finish. I dove for the depths, flipping my tail out as I went. That was answer enough when I had no words to give. And coincidently, it said it all.

Seth gaped, open-mouthed for a moment, before panic set in. Twirling in the waves, he inhaled mouthfuls of air and held his head below the waves, searching. But I hid well, behind a boulder where he could not see. Even if the murk and choppiness had not obscured visibility, he would not see me, not with his land-walker vision.

But I wouldn't leave until he was on land; there was no telling what would happen if he was alone. A sister could happen upon him if they caught his scent. I wouldn't take that risk.

Time passed and still Seth refused to give up, diving again and again, heedless of his own safety. I groaned. Seth was nothing if not relentless, as stubborn as another wolf I knew.

It took him longer than I thought it would for him to give up, but eventually he did.

"Bella?" he called, with more uncertainty. Perhaps he thought I was gone.

Pausing for a moment, he simply tread water, bobbing in place.

"I'm going to get Edward… wait here," he called, adding hesitantly, "…Bella?"

He waited a moment longer before sighing and starting a breast-stroke toward land. I edged back up to the surface, barely peeking above the waves, and watched with relief as he hauled himself up onto the sands. Looking exhausted he trudged off into the woods, clothes dripping wet and obviously weighing him down.

As much as I wanted – _desperately_ – to do as he said and wait here for Edward, I just couldn't. There were too many problems, too much going on.

My sisters were fighting my once-family and friends in the next bay. Although I had not seen them they must have been there – Seth had been in the boat, Leah had yelled. Someone called for Jasper's guidance even now. Two groups of people I knew and loved were tearing each other apart. I couldn't just sit to one side and tread water. I had to move. Not sure I could actually _do _anything; I planned only to mitigate the damage.

With that happy thought I whirled around and started back.

I wasn't sure if the reasoning behind this logic was sound, or if it was just a product of my own fears and insecurities. After all, Edward and I had never faced a situation quite like this before, and while I understood that he had loved me, once, I didn't know quite how our relationship could hold against the strain of this new addition to our troubles. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that this just might be _it_ – the final, definitive factor that broke us apart. And as cowardly as I knew it was, I didn't want to face that possibility just yet. I didn't want to see the disgust on his angel's face when he saw what I had become.

I rounded the headland and lay my eyes once again on First Beach – on what was left.

The situation was, inexplicably, worse than when I had left. Or maybe it was just that I now watched it from above the water. My sisters snarled and clawed at any and all they could reach, their feral shrieks piercing the night air. Dark objects floated past – not all driftwood. I didn't take the time to examine. Humans – and I guessed vampires and werewolves too, though I could not distinguish any – roamed the shore's edge, trying to reach those in the water, while fighting off my blood-thirsty sister's and trying not to become prey themselves. One boat, beyond all odds, somehow remained afloat with its occupants frantically beating back their assailants with paddles, knives, broken wood and pretty much anything they had to hand. As I watched, a mermaid hurtled from the waves, slammed into a man, and dragged him to the depths – Standard hunting strategy. He barely had a chance to scream.

I cringed back against the rocky outcrop below the cliffs, clinging to its side and trying desperately not to swallow any of the bloodied water.

Again, I felt the urge to cry, and I couldn't tell if the saltwater tracks streaking down my face were the ocean's or my own. My nails scraped the rock as waves frothed around my chest. I was suddenly incredibly tired. I didn't know what to do next. I didn't think I had the energy to drag anyone else to safety. Even if I could, there were only so many times I could get away with it before a sister confronted me… and I didn't want their fangs in _my _neck.

My breathing deepened, lulled by the heady scents of blood and sea, and my eyes were just slipping closed in exhaustion when a slight creak and a smattering of dust from above alerted me to the presence of another.

Eyes wide, I squashed myself up against the rock as I looked to the cliff above.

On top, a mere thirty feet away, stood a very familiar figure – Carlisle. Esme joined him as they both scanned the ocean beyond. Neither looked directly below.

"Do you see him?" Esme asked.

"No," Carlisle's voice was bleak, "I don't see Seth anywhere."

"Maybe we should take to the water," Esme sounded desperate.

He shook his head. There was a grim set to his lips. "There's too much blood, Esme. If we're having trouble with the scent up here, it'll be a hundred times harder trying to swim through it. The smell is already too much for Jasper; Alice had to take him home. Plus, you saw what kind of strength those creatures have; we don't know whether we'd be able to fight them without falling victim ourselves… and we don't even know where he is."

"Those poor people, we have to do something," Esme said. Her voice trembled as she glanced into the blood-ridden bay.

"We tried to warn them," Carlisle sighed, "we asked that they not meet with them alone. But Balthazar and his men insisted that they handle this meeting. It's unfortunate that the Council agreed with them and not us or Sam…"

"Did you see how that one that grabbed Seth? It launched both of them out of the water…" Esme's voice lowered. "Do you think he's still…?"

Carlisle sighed. "There seems to be little chance that he is… after what we saw the others doing to those that they captured."

Esme let out a quiet sob.

"We'll keep looking," he assured her with a squeeze to the shoulder.

The rustling of bushes further back made both of their heads spin to the sound.

"Hey, any luck?" Emmett's voice called.

They shook their heads in unison.

"Did you see how they're reacting to the blood?" he continued. "As soon as one drop was spilled they acted like-"

"Vampires," Carlisle and Esme answered simultaneously.

"Edward's going ballistic, you know. When he saw what those things were doing to the Quileutes… well, it doesn't exactly bode well for our chances at finding-"

"-Emmett, don't." That was Esme.

"Just saying… It's not looking good." Uncomfortable silence crackled in the air before Emmett tentatively continued, "So, _Sjó söngvarar_, Edward said the Quileutes called them. That means Sea Singers, right? Why do they call them that? They've got to have the worst voices in history! Any more of this screeching and I swear my ears will bleed venom!"

"You were here when the first appeared?" Esme said, "Did you not _hear_ her sing?"

"Sounded like screeching to me, just less angry than what they're doing now."

Esme nodded. "It sounded like that to me as well, but the humans seemed to like it."

"No accounting for taste."

"From what I could tell from studying the scrolls," Carlisle added, "the name refers not to their voices but their ability to lure humans into the water with little more than a look. I theorise some kind of chemical pheromone, or perhaps bedazzlement, hypnotic allure. Perhaps if Edward managed to read any of their thoughts, he could tell-"

"Cullens!"

A voice I recognised cut through the air, overriding the dying screams on First Beach.

"Seth!" Esme exclaimed with delighted shock, "How-"

"-Where's Edward? I need to find him!" His voice fluctuated between excitement and terror. "I need to see him now!"

"I'm not sure," Carlisle responded. "He's out there looking for her."

Oh God. Something about the way he said '_her_' suggested he meant me rather than any of his family. And Carlisle said he was 'out there'. Did he mean _in the sea?_

"Seth, how did you-" Carlisle started, while Emmet blurted, "-How are you not dead?!"

"Emmett!" Esme scolded.

"Just saying," He threw his hands up. "Not point being subtle, we saw that thing slam into you, Seth. How the hell did a measly kid like you get away?"

Seth's steps faltered and he gasped, clearly insulted, "Measly kid!"

Emmett sighed, "Measly _werewolf_ then."

"I'll show you measly-" Seth grumbled.

"Seth," Carlisle said, redirecting him.

"Oh, right, yeah. One of them dragged me out. The one that grabbed me… she… she pulled me away, pushed me to shore in the next cove. Where's Edward? I need to find him."

"Wait, one of them _saved _you?" Emmett said with clear surprise.

I looked away, down at the pink foam frothing around my scaly waist.

"Yeah!" Seth shouted, becoming more and more animated. "And it gets better!" he paused, for what sounded like dramatic effect. "It was Bella!"

The silence above was deafening. I could only imagine their stances, frozen in shock.

He continued, ever exuberant. "She's one of them!"

"Emmett, find Edward." Carlisle sounded frightened.

"On it," said Emmett, voice devoid of humour.

"Seth," I looked up in time to see Carlisle grab his arm and begin towing him away. Esme trailed anxiously in their wake. "Show me exactly where she is."

"Sure, sure, I don't know if she'll still be there though, I tried to get her to shore but she wouldn't come and I asked her to wait but she seemed frightened, I don't think…"

Their voices trailed into the night until I could no longer hear them. They wouldn't find me. I had led them to yet another empty beach. At least this one was not blood-stained.

As my vision began to cloud, I realised just how shallowly I had been breathing during their conversation and took a long, deep breath to steady myself. As soon as I did I wished I hadn't. The air was thick with the iron tang of blood and the sickly sweet scent was now – _thankfully _– starting to make me queasy. I was happy in a way, it reminded me of when I was human and my stomach clenched nauseatingly at its scent. As I slouched against the cliff-face I had to acknowledge that I couldn't stay here. The water was red, I was literally bathing in blood and Carlisle may actually swim around to this point – it wasn't too far from where I'd left Seth. I was still clearly visible above the water and I was exposed to any of the gun-men still in boats who may be inclined to attack. And I was sure that there would be more than a few pitch-forky Quileutes hanging around on land. What with the massacre in the bay, they'd be baying for mermaid-blood. Ironic, really, since the Vampires were _avoiding_ the blood.

"Hey, Edward!" Emmett's voice startled me out of my reverie. And with one blinding moment of realisation I realised that Edward was up on the cliff above with him.

My heart pounded, reaching for him. This was the closest I had been in weeks, and that knowledge alone prevented me from making any move to escape.

"Where are you?" Emmett said. That threw me. Wasn't he right there?

A faint staticky voice responded in the background. _Oh, he was on the phone_, my chest flooded with bitter disappointment, eclipsing my budding hope.

"Well, get up to the southern cliffs _now_, Seth thinks he's seen Bella." Emmett paused and I strained to hear any of _his_ words, but it was too hard. "I'm not sure, I didn't see her myself." Edward responded with what sounded like a query. Whatever it was Emmett seemed reluctant to answer. "…In the water," he hurried on. "I know but any news is good, right? …I know… it's a blood-bath down here, literally. Hurry up, man." Emmett sounded the gravest I had ever heard him. "I'll wait here but I'm going to start scanning the water, okay."

There was a click of a phone shutting.

I didn't dare move.

Moments passed… and nothing happened… nothing at all. He must have left.

Complete exhaustion overwhelmed me, crashing down with such a weight that I nearly slipped beneath the tide then and there. I steadied myself on the rocks, gripping with both arms while I fought against my heavy eyelids. They were mutinously determined to shut. I pressed the side of my face up against the icy rocks, breathing deeply through my mouth to block out the cloying stench of blood, and tasting the brine of the sea. My eyelids drooped further. _No!_ I couldn't fall asleep, not here, it would be suicide. Resolutely, I wrenched them back, and with what strength remained I focussed on the lapping tide. Even its repetitive, rhythmic motion was soothing, _sleepily_ soothing. I _needed_ somewhere safe to rest and soon.

_Safe_, the colony was _safe_… but so far.

I was too tired to travel the distance and in all honesty I just didn't _want_ to go back. Not to my blood-thirsty sisters, not to the frustrating labyrinth of the colony, not to the madness that was their world. But where else could I go? My options were severely restricted given my current scaly state. And now I was so close to Emmett I could feel it, like a tangible link, connecting us both. I imagined it as something like an invisible golden thread. The proximity anchored me to the spot and allowed no distance. I didn't want to leave, that was the honest truth, and no matter the danger that being here presented, I felt strangely safe.

_Safe_, there was that word again. The Cullens were _safe_.

_Edward, he is safe…_

I had to hold in the whimper, scrunching my face up tight. _No noise!_

I just wanted to go home, and Emmett was _right there_. Not fifty feet away.

The Cullens wouldn't care what had become of me. Mara was wrong, so was Riana. They wouldn't judge, they wouldn't blame and condemn me for something that was beyond my power or control. But more importantly, _Edward_ wouldn't, no matter what. I was sure.

Why had I ever thought differently?

And he was travelling to Emmett's location even now.

I chanced a look up. If Emmett was still there he was out of sight. But none of them were far. Away from the colony's influence, and with my sister's attentions otherwise occupied, the urge to seek them out was growing exponentially stronger by the second. Love, safety and absolution lay only metres away. For the first time in weeks, they were within my grasp. Was I selfish enough to reach out and take them? Could I do that to save my pathetic life? The urge to call out was near overwhelming. One squeak and Emmett might look down. One chirp and he could take me home… away from this nightmare. The image was so simple, so warm and welcome and so powerful… but it wasn't that easy. It was never _that_ easy.

At that moment I didn't really care, I had had _enough_. I just wanted to go home and sleep in Edward's overly fluffy, ostentatious, gold bed. I wanted to lay in his arms again.

On that selfish impulse I took a breath, intending to cry out. Damn the consequences. But before I could expel the cry another shout raised and I nearly choked on the air.

"Bella!" Emmett's shout was laced with recognition. "Bella, is that you?"

My head flipped upward so quickly I hit it against the cliff and flinched, holding a hand up to the sore spot. There he was, leaning over the crumbling top with a big grin on his face.

He laughed with abject relief. "Stay there, I'll climb down."

He started to move, and, forgetting my reservations I complied, I stayed. Why shouldn't I? Oh, there were a million answers to that question, but I blocked them. This was what I wanted, to be removed from this Hell. Why shouldn't I be selfish for once? The sisters had already lost so many that my absence would likely go unnoticed, just another statistic, lost in in human battle. So I stayed, watching as Emmett scaled down the rock-face utilising unseen crevices as easy hand-holds, and I listened as he continued to talk.

"You have no idea how relieved everyone will be when they see you, even Rose. Edward will be here any minute and… err… why aren't you wearing any clothes?"

Of all the questions! I could only smile, hugely. I started to laugh too but stopped abruptly as a ripping agony tore into my side. What the-

"NO!" Emmett roared.

My mind reeled in confusion, becoming foggy and discordant. Vision blurred as I looked down at my side. I had to blink hard before it came into focus, but even before that I saw the stream of red flowing freely down my side, undeterred by the hand I held loosely there. _Like wine pouring from a chalice,_ I thought distantly. _How…? _

That was when I saw them – the men in the boat. They shouted angrily and glared at me with such disgust that my skin crawled. One handled a gun in his grip; and aimed directly at me. I saw, as if in slow motion, the handgun click as he chambered another bullet.

…

**Note: the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with the mermaids is what inspired this fiction. I watched it **_**a lot**_** when I started to write. There isn't a full clip on YouTube but there are pieces.**** Nemma :)**


	25. Chapter 25 - Battle for First Beach Pt3

**Wow, a lot of responses to the last part! Big smile. I'm really pulling some of you through the ringer, huh. Thank you sooo much for your reviews. It really means a lot when you let me know how into the story you are. And that you're enjoying it so much! :D Nemma. **

**Special note: Happy Birthday, Elizabeth. Have a good one. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. Additional disclaimer for some of the points of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides plot that I am… err… borrowing, in upcoming chapters. **

…

Chapter 25: The Battle for First Beach, Part 3 – BPOV

A bullet had pierced my side. Red flowed from the puncture wound in a fluid magenta stream. It was odd how I didn't seem to feel it, wasn't it supposed to hurt?

"No!" came a distant cry and I had the impression that it should have been louder.

Again, I blinked up at the man in the boat. The gun was held straight and true and as time seemed to slow I saw the beginnings of an orange-yellow flash at the barrel.

Emmett slammed down between us and took the second bullet in his back, while I was still recovering from the shock of the first. He leaned forward, crouching protectively over me, as his enraged growl pierced the night air. Behind him, the men gaped in shock, and in that moment they lost three of their number to my enraged sisters. Only two remained and as they turned their attentions to the water I had no doubt that they would not last long.

Emmett turned, a frightened frown on his brow, but I was already moving. With no further preamble I flipped my tail and propelled myself back into the tide.

"Shit!" I thought I heard him curse.

I couldn't focus; my senses were blinded by panic – simple, animalistic panic. It consumed, flooding my limbs with the adrenaline I needed to escape.

_Join us, _a mixture of voices called, some in horror, some in anger. _They are too many, their weapons are too great. We return to the colony. We must!_

Home, they were calling me home. The collective was demanding my return. And I would comply.

Something grabbed me. In my frantic state, I screamed, thrashing and writhing and fighting for dear life. _The men from the boat! The men from the boat! _My mind screeched in absolute panic. Sisters swarmed around me and away while I scratched and clawed and _bit_. The flesh was like rock and oddly icy on the tongue. And the pain in my side flared like fire. But nothing I did would deter my assailant, which only drove me to increase my struggles. _I would survive this. I wouldn't be another loss to my sisters, too many were gone already._

I wasn't the only one fighting; whoever held me fought back just as ferociously, grappling desperately to keep a hold of my slippery torso. My one advantage was the scaly sleekness of my body; it slipped and slid in his grip allowing no purchase. He couldn't hold onto me for long, but he was quick… too quick.

That knowledge alone should have meant something, but I was too far gone to think what. Its implications were lost on me. My side was hurting. My brain was blasting with the knowledge that I wasn't going to get out of this, he was just too strong.

On pure instinct my mind shut down, body going limp.

He fought only a little longer, before he followed suit and went very still himself – like stone. In an instant, we had surfaced, breaking the tide.

"No, no-no," a frightened voice muttered, "What did I do?"

Emmett? Was he nearby? Could he see the man that had a hold of me?

Cold hands touched my face, my cheeks, wiping away sodden hair.

No matter, even if he was nearby I had to extricate myself from this situation. I would not be towed ashore for them to do God knows what with. Whatever those men from the boat had planned, the look in their eyes promised that it would be vicious and painful.

I had very little time.

"Oh no, please…"

In a split second of motion, I brought my tail up between us, to where the person lightly pressed me to his chest, and swatted him away.

"What the?" he gasped as a distance voice called out, "Emmett, where are you?!"

_Ha! Take that! _My tail-smack projected my assailant clear out of the water and he slammed into rock half-way up the cliff-face. The resulting impact boomed like a lightning bolt.

He would not be bothering me again.

Into the darkness I dove, immersing myself amongst the others. Rocks and weed and kelp and bits of blackened wood peppered the waters as I flitted from one shaft of light to another. I didn't know how long I kept swimming, zigzagging in all directions. Everything was too frightening, too confusing. And my sister's minds were in chaos. Even those that were attempting to flee into the deep seemed lost and confused.

_Colony! To the Colony!_

Nothing mattered, nothing made sense.

Two hands gripped either arm and I almost freaked out again when Riana's terrified face swam into view. Terror, I could relate to that. Terror made sense. Somehow it comforted to see it mirrored back at me – a strange, perverse kind of comfort.

"We have to get out of here!" she screeched, shaking me for emphasis. I didn't need it; I knew how badly we needed to leave. "They have harpoons and netting! They are throwing barrels loaded with gun-powder into the sea. They're bombing us out of the water!"

"WHAT?!"

As if on cue, a loud but muffled boom echoed behind us. I spun around in time to see our sisters, so many nameless faces, streaking past us away into the dark. Many left bright crimson trails in their wakes; some towed other immobile forms between them. Pained and panicked and enraged screeches filled the water. But all headed west – into the deep.

"What happened?" Riana gasped.

When I looked back, her wide eyes were locked on my side, low by my hip. Red misted out into the water there, from a three-inch long wound.

"Bullet," I said, "from men in the boat."

She gave it a brief prod, which I hissed at, and shakily said, "it's just a graze. It'll heal."

Another boom sounded, closer now. A shockwave caught us, tossing us into a tumble.

"We have to go! Now!" Riana screamed, yanking on my arm and dragging me bodily away. _Back to the safety of Dakara_, that's what her mind told me.

"How many…?" I said, rather numbly as I trailed lifelessly in her grip.

"What?" she said, her eyes darting in all directions like a frightened fish.

"How many…?" I realised what an open question that was – how many had we lost? How many are attacking? – and revised it. "How many of our sisters are still back there?"

Towards the shore, the waters churned red and misty. Bullets left white trails into the water and burning shafts of wood floated above.

Riana's eyes locked back on mine and what I saw in them was utter terror.

"Too many," she whispered.

Without further thought I yanked my arm from hers and hurtled back to First Beach.

"Are you crazy?!" she shrieked behind me. "Didn't you hear me when I said they had bombs? BELLA! Come back!"

I was battered on all sides as I flew, battling against the flow of mermaids hurtling in the opposite direction, fighting against their current and gaining a menagerie of bruises.

There was no trace of the feral harpies in their faces now; all I saw were frightened girls. Blonde, brunette, red-head, all different colours but their faces were all the same.

In the bay of First Beach the waters lay eerily still. Where there had once been so many, suddenly there were none at all. The sea was deadly quiet below.

Angry shouts still carried above, along with ordered grunts and more gun-shots.

The water now possessed a distinctly red glow and I didn't think it was from the fires above. Inanimate objects: wood, broken harpoons, boat hulls and paddles were intermingled with… flesh. Flesh – of both human and mermaid-variety – littered the space. It wasn't too hard to distinguish, not that I was looking too hard, but human flesh was encased in scraps of clothing while the mermaid's glistened with the subtlety of scales. If I had to guess, about three-quarters of it appeared to be human in origin, while one-quarter was mermaid.

Too much either way.

My silent scan for any surviving sisters continued until a particularly gory hunk of flesh that had probably once belonged to a torso floated by. Snapped bones protruded from its side.

Releasing a long, high-pitched whistle, I pressed a palm over my mouth and nose, before plunging into the mass. The instinct to save was overwhelming common sense and my flight reflexes. Edward had always accused me of not sensing danger, so I couldn't blame this on mermaid genetics. It was just who I was. I whistled again, listening for a reply.

If no sisters replied soon, then there were none left _to_ reply and I would lea-

A long low whistle sounded.

I squinted, desperately trying to see in the murk. A flash of iridescent blue caught my eye. I looked closer – a tail!

She was battling hard as I swerved towards her, fighting against the men that had a grip on her. Two held her arm but that wasn't the biggest problem.

She was caught in a net… a net that was rapidly leaving the water.

"Heave, men! Heave!" I heard someone shout and a chorus of male grunts sounded as she was hefted another foot out of the sea and onto a rocky ledge.

I darted closer and pulled my knife lose. I could not see her face but I clicked my reassurance to her as I made short work of the thick ropes that made up the net.

"It's alright," I clicked, "I'm here. I'll get you out."

Her struggles stilled momentarily, "Sister?" she clicked.

Her voice was laced with disbelief and fear. Images of the others leaving as she became entangled flooded her mind, along with a sense of complete and utter loneliness, failure and despair. She had thought herself lost. None had heard her plea as they left.

She did not recognise me specifically, but she knew instinctively that I was kin.

As soon as enough of the netting was snapped, I yanked her free.

"GO!" I shrieked. Her inky black hair disappeared into the dark, I along with her.

Colourful curses issued in our wake, some of which were extremely creative, most just made my ears burn. A slight feeling of smugness enveloped me, despite our dire predicament.

Another boom sounded to our left as we swam, followed by a bloom of orange light. It was terrifying and beautiful all at once, like a huge underwater orange blossom bursting into flower. We veered right before the resulting shock-wave could knock us over with its force.

Me and my nameless sister turned, following an instinctive trail to the west – to safety and our home. Too much danger lay here, we would find our sisters and return to Dakara.

We dived beneath a boat and veered past two more orange blooms. Only the first's shockwaves threw us off course, I twisted in the surf as it blasted us and became rapidly disoriented. My sister reached back and directed me back on course.

I saw her face then with a shock of recognition. There were three elder sisters in our colony: the elegant blond-haired Kiera, the dark-skinned exotic Danica, and this girl here. She was the third though I had never seen her up close before, I knew her only by her 'voice'.

_Waverly_, she informed me as I stared. Like Emily, her face was lined with scars, they intertwined and overlapped and criss-crossed, not like Emily's unidirectional claw-marks.

_Bella_, she shook me and I blushed at my rudeness. _We have to go_-

Something descended over us, tangling like weeds. Damn, I hadn't seen the kelp-bed! We must have swum directly into it. No wonder with our minds so preoccupied.

_No, not weeds! _Waverly shrieked with sudden knowing. _Nets! _

I struggled free, pulling her along with me and slashing at the last of their restricting vines. What were they trying to do by capturing us? Why would they want to?!

_Veer right!_

We did, in synchronisation. I virtually touched the tip of her tail we were so close. The nets stretched along in a wide line. I thought we would get around it, but I began to despair as we came closer to the cliff-face at the other end and the netting continued with no reprieve.

_They've blocked us off_, Waverly gasped.

_They couldn't have!_ _That was far too quick! _

With dawning horror, I realised that was exactly what they'd done. The how of it didn't matter, only that they _had_. _They must have hidden the rigging in the sand_.

The sea was shallow enough here to allow them to hold it in place all along its length. Men ranked themselves at close intervals, safe and secure in the knowledge that they were away from our treacherous teeth on the opposite side of the net… and the other mermaids had deserted us. Their screaming thoughts were too frightened and distant to pay any heed to our mental calls of distress. _They _were still screaming for help. Rescue would not be coming.

_Trap, trap… _Waverly intoned. _They've set this trap_.

As we reached the cliffs, we found that the blockade was sound. There was no opening to exploit. So we did the only thing we could, we veered right again, back towards the shore. Too soon it became shallow and we swerved right again, straight back around to the netting.

Our options had just gone from limited to non-existent.

They _had_ trapped us.

And the narrow pool we were circling in was rapidly decreasing in size as they closed in on all sides. They were farmers snaring a rabbits, snakes constricting prey, executioners tightening the noose.

This was it.

Finality rang through the other girl's thoughts in front of me. She projected it back, whether unknowingly or not, and I absorbed her despair.

Muffled voices – angry and commanding – rang above the surf, getting closer and closer no matter what direction we took. Their words were hard to define but one shout rose clearly above the cacophony.

"We've got them, drive them to the shore!"

We were being herded.

Waverly heard it too and sped up in panic. She had been caught by men before, it seemed, and the things that had happened to her then… the scars they had left…

Saltwater choked me as her unwanted memories exploded in my mind.

_No! Not again, never again, _Waverly's thoughts shouted.

I quickened my pace to match hers, propelled forward by her terror as well as my own. Adrenaline raced through our veins, stoking the fires within.

_They are not like that_, I tried to remind myself. _Edward is out there and Jake, neither would hurt us, hurt me_. But her desperate terror overshadowed all and she was blind to any assurances. And my words, though true, felt somehow hollow.

Reluctantly I acknowledged her fear. I had to admit that this reminded me unerringly of a certain occasion in Port Angeles over a year ago – Edward had intervened back then. Could I rely on his help now? Probably not, we were the monsters here, me and this scarred girl.

_Where is he anyway? Where are the Cullens? Where is Jake?_

I couldn't hear any of their familiar tones in the crowd of hunters surrounding us.

True fear settled in then. They weren't here.

I made a resolution then – the kind that should probably be thought about before being put into action – that the second any of their strange human hands touched my skin I would release the monster within, and let her have her way. She had been chomping at the bit ever since she'd first smelt blood. If they were going to attack us I was damn well going to defend myself. Canines sharpened at the thought, fangs elongating and pressing into my lip.

An accompanying snarl issued in front of me. We were in total agreement.

_To the death,_ Waverly added.

_Not quite yet, we make one more try first…_

It wasn't time to give up all hope.

Projecting my plan, she followed my line of thought. One last ditch attempt at freedom. The nets were weakest at the rocks. That was where they ended, that was where we could break through. It was also shallowest there, and closest to the land and people, but it was a risk we had to take; we had no other choice.

Our speed rose; water rippled passed, streaming along our skins like silk as the end came into sight. There it was: our escape. We just had reach it in time…

The girl beside me quivered with hope and I turned to her, speaking telepathically.

_You first, go!_

The girl darted, fishtailing sharply to the left before she shot from the water like a bullet, fast and with force, ploughing down two net-holders in her haste. It was over in a flash and she was free in the blissfully limitless ocean.

And I was right behind her.

"No! Don't let them escape!" someone yelled. "We need them!"

The taste of liberation sang sweetly on my tongue.

I braced, I launched, I-

-slammed into an obstruction.

No! Something had gotten in my way, something that was flesh and blood and almost unbearably warm. It burnt like the sun. Together we crashed onto the cliff-edge, away from the sea, falling in a tangle of flailing legs and grappling arms. I couldn't tell who had caught me; I couldn't see anything past the toned, tanned chest. I struggled against his strength to-

The beat of a healthy heart and the tender promise of blood perfumed the air…

The killing urge overtook – I needed to _rip-tear-bite_ into the succulent warmth. It was displayed like a banquet before me. Fangs bared, I lunged. Something stopped me. Something cut through the blood-haze – another scent, mixed in, a kind of undertone that sung of familiarity. A woodsy tang, and the greasiness of motor oil… who-Oh, Jake!

I stilled, staring wide-eyed at his back. During our fight he had twisted to his front. And with fangs bared I had been aiming for his neck!

Two pairs of arms wrapped around each shoulder in a bruising grip, hauling me bodily away from Jake. _Strong_,I thought wildly, _too strong. Not human. _It was then that I recognised the smell, both heart-breakingly familiar and frighteningly hostile – _Wolf!_

So they were here all along, mixed into the crowd. That knowledge did nothing to settle me. I fought, I couldn't stop myself. Instinct took control. Like a caged and feral beast I clawed and flailed and screeched, desperate for escape. Wolves were not the friends, despite the celebrity status we had bestowed on them. Mara had made that clear. They were land-walkers and we were sea-folk, they protected humans and we… fed from them.

Mermaids had more in common with our land-based vampire kin.

If only these scorching hot arms had been marble cold…

"Thought you could take a bite out of a wolf, did you?" someone snarled. Paul?

"No!" I tried to shout but he back-handed me so hard that my head whipped to the side and my ears rang. The taste of copper burst on my tongue.

Hard stone met my hands as they threw me to the ground, and I cried out as my back and scales tore on jagged edges. Even with eyes blinding, I instantly recognised who stood before me. Paul and Embry, they glared down wearing almost identical masks of disgust.

Frantic, I looked between them. Jake had yet to drag himself to his feet, but he was cursing profanities as he hauled himself to his knees, facing away. I wanted to call to him; to let him know that it was me, that I had meant no harm. I opened my mouth, about to do just that, but in the end nothing escaped my throat but a distorted screech. I was too upset to concentrate on forming coherent words. _Not that they'd understand any_, I reminded myself.

Embry frowned slightly, staring more intently at my face, before glancing back at Jake.

_Was he realising who I was? Please recognise me! I can't be that different!_

Paul was too quick; while Embry looked away he withdrew a knife and advanced. I screeched again, hyper-aware of the danger I was in. The ocean was too far to reach in one leap, and in the shallow pool I'd been thrust into the water barely covered my scaled tail.

"Wait!" Embry grabbed his arm, frowning.

"_What?!_" Paul snarled, his arms shaking. "We have to kill her before she kills us. She nearly took out Jake!" Paul shook free but Embry grabbed his arm again. "_WHAT?!_"

Paul was really starting to loose it, he was vibrating all over.

"I don't know," Embry said slowly. That same look of confusion crossed his face as he glanced my way. "It's just that she… Let's wait for Sam."

He didn't recognise me… This was bad, very bad. If he didn't know who I was…

"Why wait?" Paul mocked. "We'd just be prolonging the inevitable."

In the moonlight the harsh edge of his silver knife gleamed.

Panic led me to throw myself haphazardly towards the tide. One sister, Waverly, scrabbled at the rocky embankment, desperately reaching for my hand. She had gambled with her chance at freedom and returned! Sopping hair hung in black tangles, starkly framing her pale and scarred face. In that moment I wondered how the humans had harmed her like that, how had they tortured her? She screeched, and in my mind she screamed at me to: _Hurry!_

Grappling for contact, I managed to scrape the tips of her fingers… before searing-hot hands grabbed my tail and raked me back across the rocks. A piercing scream coloured the air as more scales ripped free and grazes cut my torso.

"Jesus, it's loud!" Embry grated, "like nails on a chalkboard through a megaphone."

My sister snarled at my captors with absolute loathing, baring fangs as her eyes flashed green.

Pain fogged my focus, but in an instance of clarity I saw myself reflected back in her eyes – fanged, feral and snarling. Anger and fear distorted my features. I bore no resemblance to the girl once known as Bella Swan, except for perhaps a similarity in hair colour. Even my eyes were different, flashing dangerously green. No wonder they didn't recognise me!

"Can it, leech," Paul growled. "You've lost this one."

Waverly spoke no response that they could understand but she expressed herself well enough, her eyes promised murder.

Jared jumped forward with a boat's oar raised. And with a final hiss, she disappeared into the surf, _before_ the paddle could smack her in the face.

_No, _I wanted to shout, _don't leave!_

Even as the urge rose I quelled it. It would be selfish to ask when there was nothing she could do. Better she swim and be free than condemn herself along with me.

"Well done, boys," a gruff voice said.

Twisting, I saw the man from Mara's vision brought to stark and horrifyingly life. Black trench-coat, black beard, weathered skin, and wicked razor-knives sheathed at his belt – Balthazar, the mermaid killer. He stood one ledge up, staring down with cruel apathy.

Before I could register what I was doing, I dived for the waves.

The wolves caught me.

"Looks like it isn't willing to wait for your Sam," Balthazar said, watching on stoically as Embry and Paul dragged me back once again into the shallow pool. "Go on, Paul, kill it now," he continued calmly, with a belligerent wave of his hand. "Get rid of it!"

This was it, my life was over.

…

**I know, another cliff-hanger, I'm awful. But I managed the triple update! That won't be happening again too soon. Burnt out writing the last three, so next update will likely be next week. **

**Someone wanted more descriptions of the mermaids, images even. Well, LittleNudgerLove made me a marvellous SS-banner. It's awesome! I haven't worked out how to post it on here yet, but if you wander over to my account on Twilighted, you can see it there. **

**If you know anyone else who might like this story, please recommend it. :)**


	26. Chapter 26 - Glass Coffins

**Surprise! Okay, so that was a lot of cliff-hangers. I knew they were there which is why I've tried to update that section quickly. I got this update to you early because I didn't want to leave you for a week. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. Additional disclaimer for some of the points of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides plot that I am… err… borrowing, in upcoming chapters. **

…

Chapter 26: Glass Coffins – BPOV

One idle thought calmly wormed its way to the forefront of my consciousness: _I'd never have thought that my death would come at Paul's hand_.

The knife descended.

"Wait!" called a voice, thick with command and authority.

If any interference of my imminent execution was to come at all I'd have expected it to come from Sam or Jake, but the voice was neither of theirs. The voice was one I had known since childhood and was as familiar to me as the sun and the moon.

Twisting, I saw him atop the juncture of rock I was backed up against, not six feet away – almost regal with the firelight at his back as he sat, straight-backed, in his wheelchair. _Billy! _

I'd never been happier to see him in my whole life. He frowned down at me.

"Bella…?" Billy's voice was laced with uncertainty. Did I look so different?

"Shit," Embry exclaimed, stumbling back.

Paul dropped the knife and it clattered to the ground. Jake visibly tensed.

Time seemed to hang suspended by a thread, the moment still like ice, as Jake slowly turned. Back rigid, muscles tensed, face growing slack with disbelief. My sun, my brilliant burning sun… stared as if he had never seen me before, as if what he beheld was monstrous.

The air crackled with tension. Seconds became minutes… no one spoke.

"Jake," I tried, staring imploringly, but my words were masked by my natural hiss.

"She doesn't even sound human anymore," Embry said slowly, swallowing hard.

Paul was the first to break, backing away hastily as others arrived. Sam was in the lead, closely trailed by Leah, Quil, and others I couldn't name. No pale faces among them I noted, no Cullens, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Sam was the first to slow, staring at me with dawning awareness. "…Billy?"

"Yes."

"You realise who this is, don't you?"

The others seemed to clock-on at that, glancing between each other for confirmation.

Jake still hadn't said a word.

Becoming increasingly nervous with the new numbers, my eyes darted from face to face. I was the centre of attention, a place I despised even as a mermaid; the supernatural transformation hadn't altered that aspect of my personality.

"Look at her eyes," Quil said with a strange mix of awe and disgust, "that's freaky."

The iridescent sheen would be more prominent in the dark; I could only imagine what the green glow would look like to them. It would confirm what they already believed me to be – demonic. They all quivered, their changes hanging on a knife's edge. Perhaps I should just stay very, _very_ still – Best not to provoke them. A wolf's claws were sharp.

Sam seemed to gather himself. Closing his mouth, he gestured for a few of the boys to come forward. Embry and two others complied.

"Alright, let's get moving. Put her in the tank," he ordered, "Quickly now."

_Tank?_ Before I could blink the boys were hauling a water-filled container down to my little pool. It was the size and shape of a coffin. _A glass coffin, like Snow White's_, I thought distantly. Was the lack of water around me making me delusional? The casket clunked down, and saltwater sloshed over its sides. No, it was very real.

"Why spare her?" Balthazar suddenly barked. For a while I'd forgotten he was still here. "So you know the girl, so what? She's a sea-demon now, a monster. _Put her down_."

"That's not why we captured one," Sam barked.

"You mean that's not why the _Cullens_ wanted one captured," Balthazar remarked, "their reason seems a little redundant now though, don't you think? Considering the catch…"

"_He'll_ want her back," Embry added, frowning down at me.

"Are you so sure?" Paul asked, somewhat quietly. "Look at her!"

He gestured toward me with the knife and I flinched, even in the dark it gleamed. When had he picked it up again?

"Put down the knife, Paul," Embry said quietly. But Paul didn't seem to hear him. "Paul," he tried again, more forcefully, "_put down the knife_."

Balthazar opened his mouth, as if to object, just as Sam overrode him, saying, "I'll have to agree with that. Paul?"

Metal clanked to the rocks.

"Whatever," he muttered sourly, "do what you want with that Medusa," and turning he walked away, hopping across rocks until the darkness consumed him.

I was so engrossed in watching him leave, so frightened to let him out of my sight in case he returned with another sharp blade, that I didn't even notice when Embry, Leah and the two younger boys gathered around me. I _did_ notice when they started to lift.

My skin was slick with saltwater, and blood coated my front, but before I could amp up to a real fight they swiftly deposited me in that tank of water with a splash.

The liquid soothed and cooled and for a second it felt almost good, before the panic began to set in. Where were they planning to take me? Could I survive away from the sea?!

"Where are the Cullens, anyway?" Embry asked, wiping his damp hands on his shorts.

Leah answered. "A few of them had to leave because of the blood, but the Doc and his wife took off with Seth when he got out of the water. I saw them running to the South. Edward and the big one followed them soon after. I don't know how far they've gone."

"They should know about this," Embry muttered.

Jake still said nothing, only glared at his feet. Why wasn't he looking at me?

Sam nodded, looking grim, "go."

As Embry took off I thought I saw a flash of white in the trees… I did. By a pine, down the bay, a beautiful blonde figure stood staring our way: Rosalie. I almost called out, and I would have, hadn't it been for Sam and Leah. Between them they lifted my glass tank using two wooden polls that were attached along the lengths of either side.

I reacted, fear overwhelming. Beyond thought and reason I threw my body around like a battering ram, screeching and screaming. By all rights my shrieks should have shattered the glass. _Reinforced_, the word floated up. There would no escape, only bruises.

None of them talked now. No insults, no threats, the tribe were stonily silent as they walked. They took me further and further from the sea that had become my home, scaling the rocks and shore towards the hills, and the further I was taken the more I panicked.

"Calm down," someone hissed, it may have been Jake but I was too far gone to be sure.

In between my own feral shrieks I could hear more, a chorus of mournful and angry cries. I paused long enough in my frantic tirade to look out to the sea we were fast leaving behind. An array of multi-hued heads bobbed far out on its surface – my sisters. They called to me, not with words, but with a meaning that was nonetheless unmistakable. They grieved their loss; furious, demanding retribution. And they promised revenge against the Land-walkers. The sea would be a very dangerous place for _any_ who strayed along its coast now.

…

Elsewhere on the Coast – Seth-POV

"Where is she?!" Edward asked desperately, "Seth, you said that she was _right here!_"

Waters black as coal sloshed and receded at his feet as he scanned the horizon. Nothing breached the interminable darkness, nothing with a living beating heart that was – all was death and destruction, flesh and wreckage. The receding tide stained the shore pink.

"Yeah," Seth said, "_was_. I also said that when I asked her to stay she didn't seem too keen on hanging around. What with what was going on I can't say that I disagree."

Edward cursed. "Where did you see her again?"

"Right there," he pointed, "she pulled me out and swam-"

Edward was gone, back into the sea.

He had searched the waters many times in the past minutes while Esme worried on the sands and Carlisle silently comforted her; both vigilantly scanned the horizon as he searched.

There was nothing. All of the sea-creatures were gone.

"Is he going to be alright?" Esme fretted. "What if any of _them_ are still around? What if…" she trailed away as Emmett followed his brother into the waves.

It wasn't the first time. They had already searched the area many times. Seth could see him now, surfacing intermittently to look around and glance back at the shore, before diving once more. Emmett's distinctive dark head bobbed up too nearby.

Seth waited on the crunchy pebbles, watching, wanting to join their efforts but knowing in the same moment that he would be more of a hindrance than a help.

"God Almighty!"

Edward's curse coloured the air at the same second Seth saw him punch the water. Scarping back the sodden hair from his face he began a slow but determined breast-stroke back to shore with Emmett close behind him. He could have used vampire speed, Seth knew, but he seemed to hate the idea of leaving the water.

_I wonder if I'd be this bad_, Seth mused, _if it were a girl I had imprinted on that had been taken by these sea-creatures… that had been turned by them…_ _Would an imprint hold for that matter, if the recipient was no longer human?_

Edward ignored his musings as he and Emmett trudged up onto the shale, clothes drenched and dripping.

"Nothing," he almost growled. "Why would she run? _Why?_"

"Technically she swam," Emmett muttered, though the comment was bleak. "So, what do we do now, bro? You want to haul out the Edgewater and head further out? With the boat we may have enough to track 'um further. How far do you want to do this?"

Beside Edward, his brother's eyes glittered darkly. They looked almost black, and his face was devoid of the humour it usually sported. In fact, he looked pained.

_The blood_, Seth released as he watched the big ones lips tighten. _The water is filled with it. And he just swam through it. It must really be getting to him_.

"Perhaps she is frightened?" Esme suggested quietly.

"Of _me_…?" Edward asked, his brow dented as if in confusion.

"No," she said, "Well, yes. Perhaps she is scared of how you will perceive her now. You know how sensitive Bella is. She knew you didn't want her to become a vampire, that you valued her humanity. Perhaps fear of your reaction is what keeps her away."

"It has to be more than that," Edward shook his head as Carlisle's phone rang.

"Jasper," he answered, "Are you… yes… oh, I see, of course. Thank you." He pocketed the phone. "Jasper says that while his efforts to cover up the carnage thus far have been successful, he… isn't optimistic about being able to hush up tonight's events."

Seth frowned. "Err, I don't understand."

"Jasper has been working to keep the growing disappearances along the west-coast quiet," he explained, "to prevent Volturi investigation. So far it has worked. But now…"

"To hell with the Volturi!" Edward growled, throwing up his hands.

"Edward…" Carlisle warned.

He huffed, angrily. "They are _not_ our most immediate problem."

"We may have to deal with them though," Carlisle said warily, "and soon."

Opening his mouth, Edward began to speak but almost instantly stopped, his eyes growing impossibly blacker as they whipped to somewhere over Seth's head.

Branches and leaves crunched. Seth turned to see Embry hopping over a log and jogging towards them. As he approached his steps slowed and he looked almost wary.

"Is everything alright?" Carlisle asked.

"Err, yeah," he hesitated, glancing significantly at Seth. "As alright as it can be I guess, considering the carnage." A hand found the back of his neck and rubbed. He couldn't seem to make eye contact with any of the Cullens. _Uh oh_, Seth thought.

"What is it?" Edward said, his voice edging into a snap. "What's happened?"

Embry frowned. "I'm not sure how to say this but…" he paused, looking to Edward, "err… haven't you already heard it in my head? You're the telepath."

"I'm too–ARGH! I can't focus!" he fisted his hair, face crumpling. "Go on, spit it out."

"Well we… err…"

Before he could speak, Rosalie flashed from the trees, hair in wind-swept disarray.

"They caught her," she gasped. "The wolves caught Bella!"

Edward looked like he could barely believe his ears. On little more than a breath, he whispered, "We got her back."

…

**Thanks again for the many lovely reviews. **** :) **


	27. Chapter 27 - Mending Bridges

**Thank you guys for all of the wonderful reviews! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. Additional disclaimer for some of the points of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides plot that I am… err… borrowing, in upcoming chapters. **

…

Chapter 27: Mending Bridges – BPOV

The place they took me to looked like a half-derelict locker room. It was white-tiled, both walls and floors, and as Sam and Leah hefted my tank between them we passed a succession of wooden benches and old blue lockers that stood against the wall, some hanging half open. Mould coloured the walls with a green tint and, as we turned a corner, we emerged into a large open space with cubicled alcoves and drains in the floor – a shower room?

Where were we exactly? I was sure that Jake had never shown me this place.

"Here's fine, Leah," Sam said.

The tank echoed with a dull thud. Water sloshed, and I felt oddly sea-sick. They had rocked me back and forth for the entire walk and in this sleek glass coffin I could find no purchase. But I had long since stopped shrieking. It wasn't helping any.

"Alright, everyone," Sam said. Not once had he looked my way. He seemed to be trying hard not to. "Outside now, come on get moving."

The silent train of hulking wolves trickled out of the door, all looking oddly exhausted. Billy followed behind, the wheels on his chair squeaking.

Only Jake remained, hunched against one side of the doorframe.

I tried to say his name but it got stuck in my throat.

"Well Jake, is this closure enough for you?" Leah sneered as she paused at his side. "She's not Bella Swan anymore, so no need to grieve over her."

Jake said nothing, he couldn't even look me in the eye and from what little I could see of his face, he harboured a pained expression. _Oh, Jake_…

Soon Sam called them out and Jake latched onto the opportunity for escape. He spun on his heels fleeing from the room. Leah wasn't far behind.

"Just another blood-sucking leech," she muttered, closing the door with a decisive click. The sound rang with finality.

That had all happened several hours ago. They left me alone, in the dark dank room without even a little light for company. It did not matter. In the sea I lived for days without light, my kind did not need much to see. If I had been human it would have bothered me.

More time passed. _It must be midnight by now, or is it later?_

It was an odd thing to have no answering thoughts to my question. No sister's to comfort me. Out of the sea I must have been cut-off from them. The idea left me hollow.

I tried not to think on it, instead I pondered my predicament. So I was on land, as I had wanted to be for some time. But I was with the wolves; I had not yet seen Edward. He had to be close though, Emmett had called him. And I had seen Seth, Carlisle and Esme. Would they confront the wolves? Would they demand my return? …would they want it?

The wolves obviously wanted answers. Why else would they hold me here? Actually, since being placed in their tank I had expected the inquisition. This solitude was a pleasant surprise; however, the space gave me the opportunity to contemplate my bleak situation – No chance of rescue, no chance of escape. My options weren't just limited – they were non-existent.

It was a long time before anything broke my glum reverie.

"Let me see her."

Although strained, I would recognise that velvet voice anywhere. Edward.

Shifting around, I tried to face the door but slipped and slid along the glass ungracefully instead. Light bloomed, framing the door's edges as I strained to hear more.

"Please," Carlisle's voice added to his, "you said that she was injured."

Ah yes, the ache in my side still pained me. Luckily mermaid nerves were dulled by cold otherwise it could have been so much worse. The wound had clotted now, though red still seeped into the water, clouding my tank with a dull pink mist.

"_It's _injured." That sounded like Paul. I shouldn't have been surprised, he had a similar response to vampires, but still, it hurt. "_It_ took a bit of a beating, didn't want to leave the sea."

His comment was followed by an all too familiar growl. Likely Carlisle was placing a restraining hand on Edward's arm right now, preventing mayhem.

"You condemn yourself, wolf," he growled, low and deadly.

"Emmett says she was shot," Seth interrupted. "She needs medical attention."

"We don't know what kind of threat we are dealing with here," Sam stated. "She's not human anymore and given what we've seen this past week… and tonight…"

"She pulled me from the water, Sam," Seth objected, sounding upset. "She didn't hurt me, she saved my life."

"You should never have been on the water in the first place!" Leah screeched. "What were you thinking stowing away on one of Balthazar's boats? You could've been killed!"

Seth ignored that. "Jake, man, c'mon, surely you don't think that Bella's a threat… do you?"

There was a long and awkward pause. No one spoke.

"We agreed to work around the treaty on this, to protect the people of Forks," Carlisle interrupted, sounding both polite and firm. "If for no other reason, we need to obtain a better understanding of exactly what kind of threat we are dealing with here."

There was another pause, brief this time, and I imagined Sam to be considering.

"Please," Carlisle implored. _Was that the dazzling voice? Would it work on a wolf?_

"You'll have to be careful," Sam said slowly, "we don't know what she's capable of."

"It took two wolves to restrain her," Embry added. "Three more to get her into the tank. She's much stronger now…"

"We will be cautious," Carlisle said.

Sam must have agreed because no less than a second later the door opened and Sam strolled into the room, followed by a worried-looking Seth, a silent Jake, Paul and Embry. As they entered light flood the space and I raised an arm against its brightness.

"I wouldn't get too close," Sam said, louder now as he entered. "Our texts say that their bites can pierce vampire skin, and they have venom of their own."

"We are well aware of that," Carlisle nodded, "but thank you for your concern."

_Well aware? How? Had someone been hurt?_

The thoughts barely registered. Nothing did once I set eyes upon them. The second I saw the first hints of that bronze mop of hair passing through the door, my gaze dropped down, watching their feet instead. Tailored shoes, Italian, likely expensive… I didn't dare to look at their faces. I didn't think I could bear to see the horror in his eyes, or the disgust.

The shoes moved closer, only the two pairs – Carlisle's and Edward's. The wolves hung back, their bare feet shuffling or scuffing the tiled floor.

I did not look up as they approached. I couldn't. I squeezed my eyes tight. The shoes stopped. The only sounds were the thumping of my heart and my ragged breaths, as Carlisle politely asked that they undo my tank's lid and Jared complied.

"Isabella," Carlisle said with authority and the sudden closeness made me flinch.

He sounded horribly formal, like a cop questioning a criminal. Not a doctor treating his patient. He waited, was he expecting a response? Was it a question?

Slowly and reluctantly I looked up, warily allowing myself the first full-on sight of him since he had entered the room. Surely it would not be so bad to look at Carlisle, he was always kind, no matter the situation. If I could manage to look at him, maybe…

His face was impassive, detached, and that scared me. In the past Carlisle had been wholly and completely caring – the poster-doctor for bedside manner. Not now. His topaz eyes were hard, his jaw set and arms tense as he knelt by my side.

It did not escape my notice that Edward was keeping his distance. He stood several feet to his father's left. Why? Was I really so awful to look at?

"I need to examine you," Carlisle said, "do you understand?"

I said nothing. Carlisle moved with deliberate slowness, as if he were dealing with a wild animal. I guess he was, my kind was unpredictable and if nothing else, feral.

I didn't move during his examination, not focussing on anything he was doing. My mind was numbing and I let it, like a snail retreating into the safety of its shell, hiding from the world and its worries. All the while he muttered quietly, probably to Edward.

A sharp pinch did make me jolt.

"Sorry," he muttered, "the bullet only skimmed her side, nothing vital was hit."

More probing, more pinches and pains and aches. I ignored it all, looking at Edward's shoes. Had I seen them before? Were they supposed to be familiar? Or were they a new Alice-addition? Had Mara taken my memory of them…? Mermaid minds were like sieves.

"Isabella?" His voice drew me back. When I looked up I was greeted with a hard topaz gaze. "Some of your fingers are dislocated," he said, as he held my hand. "I have to move them back." His eyes sparked, betraying the first flicker of compassion. "This will hurt."

Instinctively my hand drew back. I hadn't meant to move but the idea of more pain made me nervous. When had I dislocated my fingers anyway? Probably while I was bashing the tank. Carlisle held onto my wrist easily, allowing no distance. His voice became stern.

"If you do not allow me to do this, there is a chance that you will not use them again."

I gulped, mentally bracing myself for the pain. I shifted slightly, sitting up closer to him and as I did water sloshed over the side, splashing onto his shoes. Oops. I would have apologised, if I could have, but I couldn't. So instead, I settled on a remorseful look, bit my lip and allowed my good hand to clutch at the fabric of his shirt-arm.

By the door there was some shifting, a gasp. Carlisle held up a hand, stilling them. _Did they think I was going to harm him?_ Ignoring them, I settled and gritted my teeth. I had been through similar; surely it couldn't be that bad? Not like the broken leg James had given me?

Carlisle twisted them swiftly, setting each back into its rightful place.

_Not as bad_, my mind cried as I bit my lip harder, _but bad enough_.

Agony blanketed my senses. Scrunching my eyes, I couldn't help the strangely echoic hiss that rushed between my teeth. It had been quick and I was sure that Carlisle had made it as painless as possible, but still… it damn well hurt.

"I'd give you something for the pain, Bella," he said when he was done, "but with your… altered physiology… I have no idea what to prescribe, or if it would even be safe."

Still riding the aftershocks of the pain and choking on air, my head fell forward to press into the stony coolness of his chest. I thought I felt, just briefly, his hand patting my head tenderly with a father's affection, but before I could register the motion it was gone and he was gently but firmly removing my other hand from his shirt as he stood, facing Sam.

I kept my eyes trained on the floor.

"I think that under the circumstances, Bella would be better suited with us," he said.

"The elders won't like that. They want the chance to talk with her, to get information."

"Isabella is not to be treated like criminal."

"Of course not, that was not what I was suggesting, although others may think it."

Lightly gripping the sides of my tank, I listened carefully to their words. Carlisle and Sam debated amicably about the technicalities of moving me: exposure, threat, my health…

Still, Edward had said nothing, not one word since entering the room. Just like Jake.

Why was that? Did I want to know?

The Italian leather was dark, brown probably, and he wore stone-washed denim jeans that were dripping onto the tiles. Had he been into the sea then? Had Seth found him and brought him to that shore…? Almost against my will, my gaze trailed higher. His shirt was dark too, blue but made darker by water. His arms were wet, drops trickling down.

He wasn't looking at me.

That made it easier, and gave me the opportunity to study the face that I had so often dreamed of during lonely nights in Dakara. My memory could never do justice to his perfection, to the hard curve of his jaw, the fullness of his lips, and the dark tints in his bronze hair. He was so much lovelier than I remembered. And my heart pulled with the knowledge.

Black though, his eyes burned a deadly black. When had he last fed?

Trailing his line of sight, I looked to Jake. They seemed to be having some kind of silent argument that no one else was privy to or notice. In fact, Carlisle was talking almost deliberately loud, keeping most of the attention focused solely on him.

As I watched, Edward's frown deepened and Jake shook his head.

"She's more docile than when we left her," Embry commented suddenly, eyeing me closely.

Then the door creaked open and a pair of hard thumping boots crossed the floor.

"Don't let that fool you, boy," a hard voice said. "Mermaids are deceptive creatures."

_Balthazar!_

Seeing him up on the cliff where I had the chance of reaching the open sea, and seeing him _here_, in this confined room, while I was imprisoned, practically immobile, in a tank, was a very different thing. Memories flooded my mind, the shared knowledge of this man's barbary. He had killed many, butchered the Chilean Colony. At his side hung a wicked blade.

He continued speaking. "One look and they'll-"

He didn't get far. I flew into a panic, battering my restraints with renewed vigour. Adrenaline spiked my blood, racing through veins and igniting my limbs into action. I flailed, frenzied, banging and battering. I had endured _enough_, now I wanted to be anywhere except for in a room with this man – the renowned mermaid torturer and killer.

The only clear thought ringing in my head was: _Away! Away!_

"Bella, calm down!" Carlisle was in front of me, struggling to restrain my arms…

_Huh_, a smaller part of my mind mused, _a vampire struggling against _me_ for once_.

I barely had time to absorb the profound implications of this – was my strength equal to or even greater than his? – as Balthazar huffed in exasperation and moved to assist him.

I didn't just growl or hiss, I truly screamed. The sound was awful, a piercing shriek filled with fear and anger and absolute loathing. I had never met the man before tonight but wow how I hated him. I didn't want him _anywhere_ near me. The opposite side of the country wasn't far enough. Balthazar ignored my obvious sentiment, while everyone else in the room flinched back. Many clamped hands over ears to protect their delicate ear-drums.

_Nails on a chalkboard through a megaphone, _Embry had it right.

"Don't touch her!" Edward was suddenly blocking his path.

The scream stopped. I stared up at his back in gratitude while Carlisle regained his hold on my hands. I let him after that, as long as _he_ stayed clear.

Balthazar was incensed, his skin blurring from lightly tanned to ruddy red.

"I told you once before, boy, but I'll say it again," he said through gritted teeth, "this is no longer the girl you lost. This… _Demon,_" he gestured at me forcibly, "is an abomination of nature and the sooner you realise it the better. The best thing you can do for her now is to put a knife to her throat and end her misery!"

At the end of his statement I glared with undisguised loathing, and imagined just how easily my fangs could rip into the soft tissue of his throat. Many hundreds he had slain and yet he dared to call _me_ demon.

He spoke each word to Edward with slow deliberation, "She isn't human anymore."

_Neither is he, _I thought with some measure of satisfaction.

"I think you should leave," Edward deadpanned, his tone brokering no argument.

Still Balthazar inhaled, opening his mouth.

"Your actions tonight cost the lives of twenty men," Edward snapped, cutting him off. "You are hardly in a position to be doling out advice. Because of you, because of your arrogance and carelessness and underhanded methods, they are dead. If you hadn't side-lined us, if you hadn't convinced the council to send only _your_ men into the bay…"

Edward was seething. I'd never seen him so angry.

"Some survived," Balthazar shrugged.

Edward turned to Sam. "We have complied with your wishes so far. We have abided by the limitations you have set on the treaty. But _there is a limit_."

Sam looked about to reply but Balthazar spoke. "You're wrong, you know," he said. "It was not because of my actions that those men died, but theirs." An accusatory finger pointed my way. "There is your culprit, there is your killer. And she is the one who will lead us to the rest of her shoal."

_What? _

"No one is questioning Bella," Carlisle interrupted.

"We must! After that, and after we have used her to track the others, do what you will with her. Put her down. Hasn't that been what tonight was all about? Ridding the area of this scourge?!"

Dead silence. All around.

"Leave," Edward repeated, darkly.

Beside the man, Seth stepped closer, with purpose.

Balthazar huffed, though in his eyes I saw fear. My eyes tracked him across the room, following his retreat, until the door clicked with his departure.

"I've never liked that man," Embry said quietly.

No one disagreed; they were all surprisingly quiet. His popularity amongst the land-walkers was obvious. At least that was something to be happy about. Mara would be happy.

"I wonder why Bella doesn't though?" he added.

"Perhaps the _sjó söngvarar_ know of his reputation," Carlisle said.

When I looked to him he watched me speculatively. What were the '_sjó söngvarar_'?

"It likely was not wise to bring him among their number," he finished with a sigh.

"We had little choice," Sam objected tiredly, "at the time we knew little and needed his expertise. Now," he clapped his hands, "what are we to do with, err, _her_? Tribal law dictates that due to the deaths, she needs to be held as any other prisoner of the law and made accountable for her crimes-"

"-Isabella has not been convicted of any crime and in fact has saved one of your own."

"Yeah!" Seth chirped up.

"Nevertheless," Sam placated, "the elders are demanding that she be tried."

"As is right," Paul snapped at his side.

Sam glared to quiet him. "I know it is not ideal, Carlisle. I understand what she is to you and your family, but I am under certain obligations that I cannot simply-"

I tuned him out; more interested in what else was going on. Jake and Edward had returned to their silent conversation again and if I wasn't mistaken Carlisle was speaking with a little more animation than usual to Sam. He was playing distraction. What were they up to?

"Carlisle," Edward spoke sharply, drawing everyone's attention. "We should listen to him and respect their laws, which have after all been broken by these creatures."

A spike of hurt pierced my chest. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Edward sounded so harsh; his tone flat and devoid of emotion.

_I have seen that look before_, I thought with dawning dread, _only once and that was enough for eternity_. This was exactly the way he had looked when he had left me alone in the woods.

"The Quileutes deserve their justice," he continued, "just as we would if we had lost one of our own."

_If we had lost one of our own… _as if they hadn't?

That stung.

"Thank you," Sam said, although he didn't seem thankful at all, only disappointed. His eyes darted to me and away again quickly. Perhaps he had been hoping that the Cullens would take me off his hands, he likely didn't want the responsibility of having to deal with me himself. Well they didn't seem to want the responsibility either.

It was a nice feeling, to be so wanted.

_They might as well just toss me back into the sea where they found me._

Carlisle stared at him hard for a long moment before nodding, flashing me one inscrutable look, and rising to leave. Edward very carefully avoided glancing in my direction as my heart took off. They were leaving? He was leaving, _again?!_

I sat up, splashing and in that moment his eyes flashed to mine and I froze.

The moment passed. Edward followed the others out, leaving the light on as he closed the door with a faint click. The sound of footsteps receded.

My heart beat, my breathing restarted.

_Breathe… breathe… He promised never to leave again, he promised!_

But the way he had looked at me… the flat iciness of his eyes reminded me of-

-No, this was different.

There were two very important things that I had to remember about that time so many months ago. Firstly, the last time he had looked at me like that he had _lied_. Secondly, the last time he had looked like that he had left, like he had now… but he had come back.

There was my silver lining, my shining ray of hope, and I would hold onto it, with everything that was left in me I would hold onto it.

After all, I had nothing else to hold onto.

…


	28. Chapter 28 - A Mermaid on Land

**Thank you guys for all of the wonderful messages again! I got some lovely ones this last week and I reeealllly appreciated them. Big toothy smile! :) **

**Someone asked for an Edward POV. I started to write one, but this week has been hectic, so I just ended up finishing the pre-written chapter instead. Hope you don't mind. Perhaps I can manage one later on. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. Additional disclaimer for some of the points of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides plot that I am… err… borrowing, in upcoming chapters. **

…

Chapter 28: A Mermaid on Land – BPOV

Four heart-warming words woke me: "I hate the girl." It was just what I wanted to hear when I woke up with all limbs aching and cramping and sharp needles of pain puncturing every pore of my skin. Sleeping in hard glass tanks was not to be recommended.

I shook my head, coming to as I surfaced and pushed sodden tendrils from my face.

The room was dark again, that was the only reason I had managed to sleep. I didn't remember slipping into slumber and berated myself for it. I _shouldn't_ have slept.

The voice started again. What had it said before, oh yes: 'I hate the girl'. The comment was likely in reference to me – who _didn't_ hate me at the moment? – but who was speaking? "She's been a thorn in our sides ever since she set foot on the reservation last year." The voice was feminine, with an undertone that was both bitter and familiar.

"I'm well aware of your opinion," another voice said, a male's, one I knew very well – Jacob! "Which begs the question…" he added, "Why are you even offering to help, Leah?"

"I don't have to be her BFF to want to help her out. I don't even have to _like_ her," Leah stressed angrily. "Look, I just want her off the res. If the vampires want her, fine, let them take her, I don't care. I just don't think the elders should get to decide what to do with her. You know how superstitious they can be… and how harsh."

"Admit it," Jake said, "you feel that you owe her for saving Seth's life."

More quietly, she said, "I don't like the idea of owing anyone."

Their footsteps grew louder, closer, and ceased. The door clicked open and light from the hall beyond seeped in. It was dim, like candlelight. It must still have been night.

One mercy granted was that when they left me in here, Carlisle had left the tank lid open, so now I could rise to look at them evenly, level to level.

In the entrance they paused.

"She doesn't look so good," Leah stated. "The word 'gaunt' springs to mind."

"The Doc said she was injured," Jake said, not meeting my eyes as he approached the tank. "We'll have to be careful, she's fragile."

_Fragile, _I hissed weakly, baring fangs. _I wasn't a freaking porcelain doll!_

Leah snorted. "Oh yeah, she's a delicate flower."

I was starting to like Leah.

Together, they moved to either end of my container and Jake tapped and squeezed the twin wooden polls there, as if assessing their stability. What were they doing here?

"We're getting you out of here, Bells," Jake muttered, as if he had heard my thoughts. "It isn't safe for you here so we're moving you off of the reservation. Just be quiet, okay? No unearthly screeches otherwise we're all in for a Hell of a night." He laughed a little then, but the sound was bitter and hard. "Worse than it's already been, I mean."

"I just want you to know," Leah said, and I turned to find her staring right at me, "I'm only helping because of what you did for my brother. Beyond this, I owe you jack-shit."

_Fair enough_

To show my willingness, I moved back down into the water so that Jake could flip down the clear glass lid and hit the bolt home. The last thing I needed while they moved me was to fall out. If I was stranded anywhere on land this far from the ocean, I would suffocate in a matter of seconds. Mara had always warned us of that, of the many dangers land held.

With a heave and a sharp huff, the pair lifted me with minimal jostling and headed out of the door. I just hoped that Jake had told Edward where he was taking me.

…

The forest was dark, and creepier than it had ever appeared. Strange noises filled the night: owls hooted, leaves rustled in the breeze, sticks cracked underfoot. They should have been familiar noises but every one was startling and alien. I craved the calmness of deep-sea.

"This has got to be the most _miserable_ excuse for a rescue party I have ever seen!"

Seth bounded alongside, grinning and happy as only he could be. Once we had left the old locker-room, and Jake and Leah had carted me out into the cool night air, they had turned a corner to find Seth waiting on the outskirts of a forest, gesturing hurriedly.

"Son of bitch," Leah had cursed.

"Careful, sis," Seth chided as she drew close, "that's our mother you're talking about. Although 'bitch' _is_ the correct terminology for a female canine, and her children _are_ wolves so-"

"Go away, Seth," she snapped.

"No way!" he objected. "I'm in on this too. I'm helping! Hi Bella!"

"We've got it," Jake sighed, moving past him with me in tow, "just go home, kid."

Seth nodded, as if in agreement. "Okay," he said, easily enough, "After Bella is safe."

Since then he had been happily leading the way while Jake and Leah heaved me between them. The moon was lowering now, the sky lightening. Dawn was perhaps an hour off. How far were we travelling? I still didn't know where we were going and it wasn't like I could ask.

As we trekked, Jake or Leah would pause every so often, hearing things that caused them alarm. Each time I heard nothing and each time they hesitantly began to move again.

After one pause – during which I strained to hear but caught nothing – Leah turned to Jake wide-eyed. The moment passed but Jake called a halt and they set me down.

"I'll take point," he said, watching the trees behind us warily. "Seth? You wanna carry her for a while?"

"Sure," he burst, bounding to the back, "can do!"

So Jake scouted ahead while Seth and Leah carted me between them. Jake did not always wander ahead, sometimes he dropped back to the rear or wandered alongside, but always he was vigilant, eyes roving the surrounding darkness.

I was just wondering how they could possibly keep going – I wasn't light and the water in my tank added a hell of a lot of weight – when I noticed Jake walking close alongside.

Looking up, I found his deep brown eyes on me, and in them I saw a depth of pain.

"Jake," I mouthed, framing the silent words.

His lips tightened, but he did not look away. He held my gaze even as he walked.

My hand inched up the glass between us then, palm pressing flat along the smooth plane. I stared up at him imploring, beseeching, trying to convey to him what I could not with words. That I still loved him. That I was not the cold, callous being that his pack – and I feared _he_ – perceived me to be. That I was not a cruel monster like so many of my sisters.

That the Bella he knew was not gone.

Gradually, as if he could not help himself, his own hand moved to mimic mine. Our fingers drew parallel, matching on the glass, although his meaty palm easily obscured mine. And his heat permeated the tank. Right then I welcomed it. I needed the warmth, _his_ warmth – my own personal sun. Jake kept me warm and held the shadows at bay. I needed to know that he was here with me. That we were not strangers. That I was not alone.

He cringed and looked away, removing his hand. The suddenness of his departure was like the ripping of a Band-Aid. The loss stung. My thoughts stuttered, failing to understand why, before the realisation crashed down on me with the force of a freight train.

_He can't stand the sight of me_.

A shard of hurt impaled my heart. _Of course he can't stand the sight of you._ _Look at yourself_, I admonished,_ you're a giant blood-sucking fish for God's sake. How could he not hate the sight of you? _Half of my body was coated in scales and fins. Then there were the fangs and the other troubling vampiric traits – the coldness, the eerie eyes, and, oh yes… that other minor detail: the unquenchable thirst for human blood.

Lilith had said once that '_we are the vampires of the sea_' – An apt description considering my kind's appetites. I had known that, I had come to accept that. I just didn't think it would hurt so much to see that same realisation dawn in someone else's eyes. The eyes of someone I loved. And to see that they could not accept it, did not _want_ to…

It was rejection, pure and simple. And I didn't want to deal with it. I wanted to get as far from him as possible. I wanted to wallow quietly in my self-loathing and grief. And yet all I could do was dip my head forward and hide in my hair.

Mermaid's had no emotions? What a load of crap! My eyes stung, but with no tears.

Another thought struck. If it hurt like this to see Jacob's reaction, how much more would it hurt when I finally faced Edward?

I couldn't bear to think of the answer to that. If Jacob was my world, then Edward was my universe.

Perhaps it _would_ have been better if I'd just remained in the sea, one anonymous mermaid among so many. Perhaps it would have been best if no-one had ever discovered what had become of the girl once known as Bella Swan…

"Just a bit further, Bella," Seth said cheerily at my back. "I think we're almost there."

Wherever _there_ was I didn't really care. The sea was far to our right, I could hear it, and I desired to go nowhere else in my current state. I just wanted to be left alone.

Our procession halted. All three wolves stared ahead.

"Did someone order a mermaid?!" Seth called as I allowed the grief to envelope me. How, with everything that had occurred tonight, could he sound so happy? But then that was Seth, he was perpetually cheerful. "She comes with a side order of fries and a free bag of prawn crackers," he continued, and for the first time tonight, Leah laughed.

"Are you saying that she's fish and chips, or a Chinese take-out, Seth? Cause you mixed in both." She barked out another laugh. "You just messed up your own joke, brother."

"No I didn't. The 'Seth take-out special' offers the best of both worlds, and besides… They aren't actually going to eat her. I hope."

Seven figures glided from the darkness – eerily pale in the moonlight.

"You took more than thirty minutes," Edward said, his honeyed voice warming the air.

All of them were there. I glanced eagerly from face to face. So Jake had been returning me to my family, he had risked himself to get me home – Him and Seth and Leah.

"What can I say, our service sucks." Seth shrugged. "Our policy says if we take longer than forty-five minutes, you get a 10% discount on you next order."

Edward snorted, actually snorted. "You're humour is truly awful, Seth."

The icy apathy of earlier was nowhere to be seen. He was smiling slightly, happily even. So… he did accept this. He wasn't going to turn his back on me?

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Jacob regarding me again. My eyes flashed up to meet his for a second, before I pointedly looked away and shifted to place my back to him.

I didn't want to re-live that little moment we'd had back there; once was bad enough.

"Besides," Edward continued as Seth and Leah started to bring me forward, moving away from Jake, "if you're going for take-out jokes, wouldn't sushi be a better-"

There was a snap. I heard it distinctly.

Before I knew it, the tank lurched and plummeted to the side.

"Crap," Seth shouted.

Russet skinned hands grappled at the sides, but the damage was already done. A corner of the tank's metal frame slammed into the ground and the impact sent shock-waves rippling up the glass side, shattering it. The world whirled as water drained, making its escape through the brown earth with me in tow, its helpless captive.

I hit the earth and rolled in the leaf litter, but unlike the water I could not escape into the ground. Instead I rolled and thrashed like a… well, like a fish out of water.

Hands – were they Jake's? – reached for me but I hissed and whipped my tail, angry at my vulnerability, and they retracted. All this happened in the space of a few seconds, but I quickly found my baring's and rolled up into a sitting position which was much more stable.

The air felt strange, thick. I gasped lungful's of it as my skin tingled, and I heard a sound like shivering grass.

My legs! I watched in astonishment as the forked fin-tail retracted, fading into the pale smoothness of skin. My tail split and scales retracted, leaving the silky paleness of two _very_ human legs shimmering in the moonlight with the wet glint of the last few drops of seawater.

Three thoughts hit me at once: _I wasn't going to die! Mara was wrong! …Mara_ lied?!

Feeling the length of my tail disappear and all of my scales retract, I immediately felt – unlike any other time in the month since Mara took me – acutely naked and very aware of it, not to mention the presence of the people around me. Before all of my Mermaid features could vanish I curled in on myself, wrapping my arms around my chest and drawing my legs up into a protective ball. I dropped my head to my arms too, allowing the long damp tresses of hair to fall forward and conceal as much of my nakedness as they could.

Almost instantly a hand lay gently on my shoulder. I cringed, despite its intended assurance. I was unfamiliar with contact like this, or had been for a long time.

In spite of my reaction, the hand remained. Of that I was glad, I recognised that hand.

"It's alright," his velvet voice murmured in my ear, "I'm here now."

Edward. Finally. He covered my shoulders with some form of fabric; it was soft and pleasantly comforting. I inhaled deeply and my nostrils filled with the scents of honey and sunlight and violets; _his_ scent. Relishing it, I peeked through a gap in my hair, just enough to confirm my suspicions, that I was, in fact, enveloped in his shirt.

"I'm sorry about before," he said gently, "about how I acted. We wanted to make sure we got you out safely. I had to make them think that we were co-operating with their rules, if I didn't it would have devolved into a fight, so I kept my distance."

Edward crouched around me protectively; covering me so that I could not be seen, I assumed. He was so close, closer than he had been in weeks. My heart ached at the proximity. How many nights had I lain awake in the Colony hoping for exactly this, praying to experience _this_ once again? My eyes were glued to his face, examining the faint glimmer his marble skin cast in the moonlight, rememorizing his features and every contour of his angel's face. Through the length of my admiration, not once did he look back at me. His attention was otherwise occupied. One arm reached over each of my shoulders as he deftly threaded each of the buttons of his shirt through its receptive hole. I watched in amazement at the lithe, graceful movements of his fingers, so strong and assured. Of course, I had seen his hands a hundred times, but never had I appreciated the sight as much as I did right now.

"If I hadn't," he continued, shaking his head, "with one look… one touch… the façade would have crumbled. I'd have snatched you and run and the wolves would have been on us."

It occurred to me that he could have done this job much faster, but he was moving at human speed. Was this an attempt not to startle me? Or a tribute to his own roiling emotions?

It suddenly clicked that I should be doing something to help too, and I began to wriggle as I threaded my arms into the sleeves. They were huge. Edward's shirt drowned me, falling well below my waist to mercifully cover my thighs and the top part of my legs.

Ah, sweet modesty. I had forgotten what it felt like.

"But you're safe now," he murmured on a breath of air. I looked into his eyes then and saw all of the raw emotions stirring in their molten depths. "Everything is going to be okay, love."

Right then, in that moment with him staring into my eyes with such love and adoration, I could actually believe his words. _Everything _was_ going to be ok_. Damn the details.

With some effort I managed to relax my breathing. Soon it returned to normal.

Edward waited, patiently assessing me until he was sure I was calm.

"Let me help you up," he offered, carefully winding a hand under my arm.

My mouth opened and closed. I was really feeling the cold now. With the numbness in my limbs I wasn't sure if I _could_ walk, let alone stand, but I didn't want to ask to be carried. Then I remembered that I couldn't speak anyway so it was a moot point. Instead, I just stared at my legs… which were now sticky with leaf-litter and forest grit, lovely.

For once it seemed like he could read my thoughts, as without query he hefted me into his arms. His grip secured me and my arms wound around his neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Well, in my world it was. Letting my eyes drift closed, I pressed my face to his chest and hid from the world, content.

"Finally," he whispered, gently pressing his lips to my head as his arms tightened.

He loved me, no matter what I had become, _he still loved me_.

I savoured the abject relief that flowed through me then. Nothing had changed in that regard, he still wanted me. For now, I could savour this one victory.

"Hey Bella," another quiet voice said. It tinkled like wind-chimes.

Fighting exhaustion, I peeked up to see Alice hovering at Edward's side. She smiled, reaching out to touch my arm. Esme moved closer too and pushed the hair from my forehead.

"Welcome back, sweetheart," she murmured, her lips quivering. "We've missed you."

Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper glanced my way with slight nods, but their eyes quickly returned to the forest, scanning around. Were they expecting danger? Mermaids could hardly plan a surprise attack on land… but what about the wolves? Jake had permission to take me, didn't he?

As if in answer, Carlisle spoke up.

"How much trouble are you going to get in for helping us, Jacob?"

He snorted. "It's not like I'm the only one. Leah and Seth are here, and Embry and Quil are covering for us back in La Push. They're still Bella-fans, even with the tail. I think Sam already had some inkling of what we were planning – judging by how obviously he was ignoring us. I think he hoped we'd try since he couldn't go against the council and disobey a direct order by bringing her here himself. That leaves Jared and Paul – Paul is the problem, he's the one that wants her dead, Jared will follow his lead, although I don't think he cares either way. As for Colin and Brady, well, they're just kids. They might be a problem if Paul gets to them but I'm sure Sam would put his foot down if that happened."

"We won't hurt them if we can, but we will protect our own." That voice belonged to Esme, and under the motherly tone it was fierce.

Jake scowled and I hid my face again. "We wouldn't let the pups get anywhere near your territory," he said, sounding annoyed. "We are quite capable of handling our own."

I could just picture him crossing his arms. There was a sigh.

"You should get her wounds treated," Jake said, "some of those cuts look pretty bad-"

A howl broke the night, cutting him short. When I looked up all three of the wolves had snapped their heads in the same direction, staring intently into the woods behind them. Jasper and Emmett tensed too, leaning forward, while Edward's arms tightened by the tiniest degree.

"Well it looks like your head-start is officially worn out," Jake said airily, though worry lurked underneath. "Paul will be here soon. You better get moving. He has a bad temper at the best of times. And this Balthazar guy has been getting into his head."

"Bad temper?" Leah scoffed. "That kid's a walking stick of dynamite."

"Thank you, Jacob," Edward said earnestly, "For all that you've done."

Jacob stared at him hard, and said, "Run."

…

The forest flew past in a green and black blur, some areas lighter than others, and always the wind whistled in my ears. For once it didn't make me feel ill. Vampire speed was so similar to mermaid speed in the water that it comforted me while I drifted towards sleep.

I fought a losing fight against my heavy eyelids. Exhaustion was dragging me under swiftly now, one limb at a time. It did not matter though, Edward had me safe in his arms and we were heading home. That word had never sounded so sweet: _Home_.

My lips formed a smile against his cold marble chest. He could probably feel it.

"I'll need to examine those wounds more thoroughly as soon as we get her back," Carlisle said at Edward's shoulder, easily keeping pace while the others flitted ahead and behind. "Jacob was right; some of her wounds look quite bad. I'll have to re-assess the bullet wound too, it's only a scrape but she may need stitches." He paused, and sighed. "I'd like to do more about the bruises. Those will hurt her more by morning…"

"Those wolves were heavy-handed when they caught her," Rosalie said, darting ahead.

"Adolescent pups," Alice hissed, "that Paul especially. He needs to be neutered!"

Nobody laughed… but that was a joke, right? I mean, I didn't _like_ Paul but-

"There's an old scar on her leg too. It looks like a bite," Emmett's voice interrupted, unusually devoid of humour. "What creature has a jaw that big? It's huge!"

Carlisle inhaled sharply, while Edward's arms tightened. Neither said anything. And as the silence lengthened I thought back to the time when the Great White had gouged its teeth into my thigh. I thought I would die that day, I thought that Edward had saved me too.

My fingers clutched at him, forgetting that _I_ was the one now wearing his shirt not him, and scratched down his chest. A tremble through his skin answered my touch.

This was a turning point in our lives, of that I was painfully aware, and although I knew I still had to consider all of the implications that encompassed, I didn't have to think of them just yet. For now I had him here, for now I was tucked safely in his arms, for now I did not need to think. It had been a long night and sleep was a lullaby on Edward's breath, calling me to oblivion's rest – gratefully, I obliged.

…

**Ok, some of you saw that coming. ;)**


	29. Chapter 29 - Home

**Loved the messages! Thank you all. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 29: Home – BPOV

When I regained consciousness it was to the grand sensation of cushiony softness. There was a feather pillow beneath my head and the lightest quilts I had ever felt surrounded me.

Hmm, Edward's bedroom – I was in Edward's bedroom.

_Safe, home, safe, home…_

Voices rose. There was a quiet argument taking place in the hallway outside. I blinked once, twice, to clear my vision, and realised belatedly that the duvet I was wrapped up in was gold. Ah yes, I remembered this. Flat on my back, I twisted my face to the open door. Too exhausted to lift so much as a finger I just lay there and listened. Even with more sensitive mermaid-hearing I couldn't quite make out the words. _My _auditory responses were designed to be more effective below the sea, not above it. And everything up here was so much sharper – not muffled by water – yet still dulled. It made my ears hurt. Even so, I managed to distinguish Edward's voice, along with Carlisle's, Jasper's and Alice's. The odd phrase floated my way but none made much sense. At one point I thought I heard Edward worriedly ask about the cuts to my throat and Carlisle say something about gills. I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking them out. I didn't want to hear how much of a freak I was now, how _different_. Vampire and Human differences were one thing, this was a whole other playing field – it wasn't even a field, it was a lake next to the field.

They continued on for what felt like hours, until Edward's voice stood out resolutely over the others. "No, absolutely not. I'm not leaving her when I've only just gotten her back."

"The Quileute's are in a state of terror," Carlisle said, as if he were trying for reason.

"Apparently Sam wasn't as amenable to Bella's release as Jacob had us think," Jasper added.

Edward sighed heavily. "He genuinely believed it wouldn't be this much of a problem."

"He was wrong," Alice stated.

"The rest of the Pack are refusing to leave their wolf-forms to talk," Jasper murmured.

"That's their problem then," Edward said, voice flat.

"Edward." Carlisle. "We need you with us, there's no way we can handle this without you. How else are we to talk to them? We need to calm the situation down, now." He sighed and his tone became more sympathetic. "I can only imagine how hard it is to even contemplate leaving her right now, but please consider that this is for _her _welfare. And she won't be alone. She is in no danger here."

"She should have been in no danger just driving home from the police station," Edward said with complete exasperation. He sounded so tired. "Fine, fine! Esme, I have my phone with me. I want to be informed the second anything happens, bad or good. I won't leave without that assurance."

"Of course," her voice answered from a distance, "I won't leave her for a second."

"Neither will I," Alice added, "it's not like my visions will be of any help with the wolves anyway. I'm of better use staying here with her."

Edward's sigh couldn't have been more defeated.

Through the crack in the door I saw him lean back against the wall. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers – such a signature gesture.

"So," he murmured, "when are we leaving?"

"Immediately," Carlisle said and Edward didn't seem surprised. "The sooner we rectify this, the better. Then we can focus all of our energies on Bella."

In that moment Edward looked so unbelievably stressed, all the worry and angst was laid bare, un-restrained by the usual mask he wore in my presence.

His eyes snapped open and locked with mine. For an instant he didn't move, then, carefully, he made his way into the room, kneeling at the bedside.

All I could do was stare, rememorizing his face inch by inch. It had been so long. His eyes scanned mine too with similar intensity; there was a raging storm in their depths.

"I have to leave with Carlisle and Jasper for a short while," he said imploringly, as if willing me to understand. "We need to speak with the Quileutes… to settle things down. Apparently my presence is required." He seemed annoyed about that. He said the last words through gritted teeth while glaring out of the window. "Otherwise," he turned back to me, "nothing in Heaven or on Earth could induce me to leave your side. Alice will be here," he continued, "as will Esme, Emmett and Rosalie. If you need _anything_ call to them."

As if it would be that easy to just '_call to them_'.

"Bella…" he trailed off, staring intently. If he was expecting a response he got none. His hand twitched, as if it may reach up to stroke my cheek or hair, but in the end he did neither and we just stared. Finally he said, "I'm so sorry," before flitting out of the door.

I couldn't hear the others in the hall anymore and could only assume that they had gone too. It wasn't like I could really tell. But no one else moved into the room to disturb me.

I allowed my head to flop deeper into the fluffy feather pillow. I couldn't luxuriate in its softness anymore, and had no delusions that sleep would be forthcoming. Everything felt far too strange after weeks of sleeping on rocks on the open sea-bed, or in sand in dark tunnels.

Everything ached too, so much more than before, and everything felt far too heavy, like gravity had suddenly become stronger. The effort it took to move, or merely to keep breathing, was so exhausting that my energy drained away like water.

Water… I wanted the water back; I needed the effortless buoyancy it provided…

Now that I was home, I suddenly missed the sea.

…

Sometime during the night I stirred as I felt gentle, cold fingers probing my hair. I was in such a state of melancholy that I really didn't care who it was. My initial thought was Carlisle checking for bruising – perhaps Emmett had mentioned how I had hit my head on the cliffs. It didn't feel like Edward. As I turned my head, I recognised Alice's willowy frame in the moonlight.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered. "It's just that there's weed tangled in your hair. I was trying to get it out."

I didn't say anything, just closed my eyes, and after a moment her gentle ministrations continued.

I hadn't been sleeping deeply, too aware of any creek or clatter. The noises were so strange and foreign and yet so familiar at the same time – it was disorienting. My head ached too, not painfully, but I was feeling the lack of pressure from having no water over and around me as I slept. The sensation was unsettling. And it guaranteed a restless night.

A quiet hum began, low in Alice's throat. Did she sense my distress? Was she trying to soothe me? The sound _was_ soothing in a way, comforting as her fingers wove though my hair and rubbed on my scalp. I imagined my hair to be a disaster zone, like an overgrown, abandoned garden left to rot and ruin with broken trees, flourishing weeds and cobwebs mangled together. After weeks in saltwater there wasn't much I could do about it, and I was too exhausted now, both physically and emotionally, to really care.

Alice's melody progressed and after a time it became familiar… Clare de lune? It took form as she teased tangles apart using her fingers and a set of silver brushes. I didn't realise that there was more than one type of brush you could use, but Alice had a whole vanity set. I noticed them as she carefully undid the small braids Kali had woven into my hair last week. When she was done, strips of kelp that Kali had included in her plaiting fell loose and Alice carefully removed them. They smelt weird now, wrong, dried up and dead. That was what happened when weeds left the ocean. Maybe _I_ looked dried up and dead now too.

She spent hours tirelessly working away as I passed listlessly in and out of sleep. In a way it was therapeutic, and I appreciated her company, even if I did not show it.

"There," she said gently, finally placing the brushes down.

Her hand tentatively reached up to stroke my hair, as if I were a wild animal that may bolt at the slightest touch. I had no energy to bolt, even if I could.

"If you like," she whispered, "in the morning we can give it a good wash. I have your favourite strawberry shampoo in the bathroom. A bath will make you feel better."

I loved the sound of her melodic voice, its sweet cadence was a relief compared to the blood-curdling screeches of mermaids. My eyes dipped. Perhaps sleep _was_ possible after all.

"I'll leave you alone now," she said gently, seeing my lethargy, and started to rise.

Even I was surprised by the speed at which my hand shot out and snatched hers. Alice glanced down with wide eyes before meeting my gaze. I could only stare at her imploringly. I didn't want to be alone. I felt, more keenly than I ever had, how desperate I was for company. Now that she was here it was suddenly, inexplicably, _vital_ that she not leave. It almost felt like if I closed my eyes and lost the security of her touch, I would wake up again on the ocean-bed in a fog of blood, with my sister's cries carrying on the night air.

I didn't realise I was shaking until Alice climbed into bed next to me and drew me into her arms, murmuring, "It's okay, it's okay, everything's going to be okay," over and over.

I wanted desperately to believe her, but there were so many issues, too much to resolve, and the mass was overwhelming. I clutched her close, burying my head under her chin, and all the while I didn't utter a noise. It would be almost a relief to break-down and cry but I still didn't know how. I couldn't remember that basic human essential. The lack made the loss of my humanity sting all the more acutely. All I could do was cringe and tremble, while Alice diligently continued to calm me.

At some point the shaking must have stopped, as I fell back into my silent lethargy, neither asleep nor truly awake. In this state we remained, quietly holding one another until dawn.

Sometimes Alice hummed, sometimes she didn't. She must have known I was awake, Edward always knew but she said nothing, simply allowing me to be.

Esme drifted in at one point; the slight rustle of soft fabrics was the only noise to disturb our quiet shell of peace.

"Carlisle just rang," she murmured. Must have been on her mobile, I didn't hear the house phone call. "The meeting with the Quileutes is taking longer than expected. There are numerous issues to address. He says they won't return for some hours yet."

Alice nodded beside me; I felt the movement of her little chin against my head.

"He cleaned and bandaged the bullet-graze on her side while she slept before he left," Esme continued. "But he's worried about the grazes along her front from when she was dragged across the rocks. They need to be cleaned. He'd hoped to be back quickly to take care of them himself, but…"

Alice nodded. "We can take care of them now."

"He told me what to do," Esme said.

"Bella," Alice said, moving back to look at my face, "Are you up to it?"

Wanting to agree and get it done as soon as possible I dipped my head. The little head-bob cost me though; an action that would usually take little energy drained my last reserves.

Alice shifted. Lithely manoeuvring us both out of the sheets, she lifted me gently in her arms while I wrapped both of mine around her neck.

"She's still so exhausted," Alice commented as she trailed after Esme into Edward's spacious bathroom suite.

"Hopefully, this won't take long," Esme said, with a sweet smile to me, "but it will make her much more comfortable and then she can sleep some more."

Beside the tub, Alice paused. "How do you want to do this?"

"Place her in the tub," Esme instructed. On the bathroom counter, beside the sink, she set down Carlisle's satchel, unfastened it, and removed some silvery objects. "We won't draw a full-bath for her tonight. I think sponges and luke-warm water will be best since her flesh is so tender."

Alice eyed the equipment in Esme's hands with trepidation.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Esme?"

"Of course," she said, "I could have performed this task without prior instruction. I have not been a doctor's wife for nearly a hundred years for nothing, you know. I've picked up some skills in that time, even if I have never put them into practise. Now," she said, rolling up her sleeves, "remove her shirt."

Setting me down in the ceramic tub, Alice complied. Her pixie-like fingers swiftly worked their way through the button-holes of Edward's shirt, but half-way down she froze and gasped. Esme, who had been sorting through a menagerie of bandages and medicinal alcohols, whipped her head at the noise. Her mouth dropped open in shock… and horror.

"Oh, Good Lord," Alice whimpered, her hands fluttering uselessly above my stomach.

Esme swallowed and her features crumpled into anger. "Those wolves are brutes. Rosalie said that they'd dragged her across the rocks. But I didn't think…" She fell silent.

It took her effort, but she visibly schooled her expression, straightening out the frown-lines and easing the hardness of her lips, until a more compassionate expression formed.

Leaning down, she swept some strands of hair from my eyes. "Don't worry, dear," she smiled, shakily, "we'll sort this out in no time."

It took forever. Unfortunately, there was so much gravel and dirt embedded in the mess of tattered skin down my front that it took Esme over an hour to painstakingly tease out each little piece – and that was utilising her vampire speed – while Alice drizzled water across my front from a sponge she held hovering in the air above. My eyes fluttered, barely aware.

There was a near constant stream of red making its way towards the drain.

Blood… I wondered how they could stand it.

Some scales remained on my skin, those that had been ripped clear before I'd… _transitioned_ – for lack of a better word – back. Those were embedded within the wounds or scattered across my front, and they glistened innocently in the light. I saw as Esme removed those too. She didn't place them in the same tray she was using to dispose of the grit; instead she placed them in a vial. She tried to be subtle about it, but I saw. No doubt they were for Carlisle's medical research. I didn't mind.

All the while I lay unmoving with my head drooped back over the ceramic edge. Earlier, Alice had rolled up a towel to cushion my neck and allow me easier access to observe what they were doing, but after my initial exposure to the mess of blood and skin that was my stomach and chest, I just didn't want to see anymore. Instead I trained my focus on the white-painted ceiling and tracked the subtle lines in which the paint had been expertly applied with a roller. I wondered which vampire had done the decorating, then realised it was probably Esme – she was the architect in the family.

"Once I am done with the tweezers," Esme explained, drawing my attention, "Alice will wash the wounds with a special herbal infusion designed to numb the area, deter infection, and speed healing. Then we are going to bind your torso with bandages to keep the wounds clean until the flesh can scab over, to protect it while you heal."

As she finished my eyes drifted shut. I fought to pry them open again.

When I did, Esme and Alice were sharing a look.

"She's very tired," Alice muttered.

"It will not take much longer," Esme assured. "Surface wounds always look much worse than they really are."

Was that true, or was she just trying to reassure me? Because they felt bad enough, the sting was really making itself known now, becoming more irksome until it was a presence all of its own. I silently fought not to show any discomfort.

Alice began to apply the herbal water just as the stinging was reaching an intolerable level. The effect was almost instantaneous, whatever that stuff was it worked wonders.

To distract myself from the prickling pain, I tried to focus on other things, like where the wolves had gotten that tank that they had carried me in? I mean, who keeps a tank that size just hanging around? It had to have been custom made.

_Balthazar_. The answer came easily. The mermaid hunter had brought it, likely with the express idea of capture in mind. If they had left me with him, what would he have done? Waverly's scarred face drifted to mind and I recalled her memories of human-torture. The men that had held her had worn olden breeches and gaping cotton shirts, likely from the early 1700's, so the memory was old. But all had asked her the same thing: _Where is your colony?_

Was that why Balthazar was here with the wolves? Did he want to know where my sisters were? Yes, he did. He had said so while I was in that old locker room. The thought was disturbing, horrifying, but before I could work up my fear, Alice was removing the bowl of herbal water and carefully drying me with a fluffy towel.

They dressed me in pyjamas, which confused me, the satin pink ensemble was not my own, I had never seen it before and wondered who they belonged to when none of the women in this family ever slept. Who would have a use for them?

My curiosity waned though, over-shadowed by exhaustion.

Soon I forgot my questions.

They moved me to Alice's room to wash my hair, giving her the opportunity to utilise her hair-dresser's sink with lit-up Hollywood-Starlet mirror. My body slumped down the instant she placed me in the chair and I found I could no longer hold my eyes open as they began. Even with Alice's earlier attempts to tame the tangled mess, there still appeared to be too many knots and snarls to count. If this were left to me I would have probably just called it a day and cut the whole mess off. Well, at least to shoulder length, it would have been much easier to deal with then. But these women were determined. No tangled mess of hair was going to defeat them in their parade for perfection.

When I opened my eyes again Alice was lifting me from the seat. I was clean. I _felt_ clean. With Esme following Alice carried me back down to hall to Edward's room.

"Oh," Alice said, pausing in the doorway.

Looking up, I saw Rose stood a little awkwardly next to a freshly made bed.

"I thought she'd appreciate it," Rose gestured to the new sheets, "you know, clean."

Immediately I felt bad, knowing that they had only had to change it because I'd returned to them in such a state: dirt-ridden, coated in leaf litter and stinking of the seawater.

As if she was following my train of thought, Rosalie said, "At least she smells better."

From behind me I heard the low hiss of rapid vampire speech. I didn't catch the words but I could tell they were sharp. But Rose hadn't spoken with a sneer; I didn't think she had meant it nastily. It had only been a comment and it was true. I had smelled bad.

"Let me help you," Rose muttered.

After moving back the quilts, Rose vanished from the room. Between them, Alice and Esme brought me to the bed. I had expected this, and I expected them to leave me to sleep once they were done, but they surprised me. Alice passed me to Esme while she moved ahead, shuffling onto the far-side of the mattress, where she turned and held out her arms. Esme gently passed me over, extending her arms with caution, as if she were a clumsy human handling a priceless vase. As soon as Alice had me in her arms she settled back, shifting down into the blankets. The slight indentation in the bed behind told me that Esme had joined us too. Sure enough, a second later, her marble arms encircled me from behind, and I turned to her, like a flower seeking the sun.

"Sleep now, sweetheart," she murmured, "we've got you."

Nestled between Alice and Esme I felt secure enough to relax. Maybe not to sleep, I couldn't sleep, but I could drift. That simple notion allowed its own level of comfort.

Drifting on the precipice of unconsciousness was very much like drifting in the ocean, allowing the tide to take control and rock my body like a mother did a child. I missed Renee in that moment, my best friend and absentee mother. There were many things that I could not count on her for, but providing comfort when I most needed it was not one of them. As childish a wish as it was, I wanted my mom.

"Shh, Bella, shh," she hummed.

A hand gently rubbed my back as she cradled me closer. And Alice stroked the back of my hair.

Esme was Edward's mom, but in many ways she had already taken on that role for me as well. I could rely on her for motherly support. Feeling brave, or perhaps very lonely, I did something I had never done before and nuzzled closer to Esme's coolness, burrowing into the hollow of her neck and hiding from the world. To my relief she didn't push me back, but embraced me closer, tucking me more securely under her chin.

Time passed as it did in the ocean, peacefully and without notice.

"Rose," Esme said quizzically after a time.

Shifting my position slightly, I spotted her in the doorway, hovering uncertainly.

"Err," Rosalie said, frowning a little, "I could tell that she's having trouble sleeping…"

"No wonder after what she's been through," Alice murmured, at a level I wasn't supposed to hear.

"Well, there's this CD of ocean-tracks lying around in your collection, Alice," she said, holding up a silver disc. "The one you got during your hippy phase in '02. I remembered it and thought that it might help. It's supposed to calm humans and considering where she's been… what she's used to…" she trailed off awkwardly.

"I don't know if reminders are going to help right now, Rose," Alice said, "It could upset her. Then again it may be just what she needs… If I could just _see_." Frustration filled her voice.

"Bella…?" Esme inquired.

I made no move, not indicating a preference either way. Truthfully I didn't think it would help. The sound would be artificial and besides, the motions and smells of this place were all wrong and we lacked the fresh breeze of the salty sea-air or the fresh touch of silken water, the darkness of the depths… It wouldn't be real enough.

They didn't push me for a response, for which I was grateful. They left me to my peace.

Rose must have made the decision for me, as after a few metallic and plastic clicks a gentle, low volume, ocean tide echoed through the room. It wasn't the sound of the deep blue but of the shallows, nevertheless it still felt homely. Seagulls cawed in the distance and I could easily imagine the frothing waves lapping at the shore, idly reaching up to cover a layer of sandy grains only to leave them darkened as the water retreated.

To my surprise, the sound was not as artificial as I had pre-judged it to be. And, in fact, the familiar noises of the sea did help me to relax, if only a little.

I clung to Esme's waist with greater strength, drawing her closer. She embraced me a little harder too, allowing her affection to shine through. Alice, on my other side, shuffled closer. And like limpets we clung to one another, weathering the tidal force of the sea together…

The quiet was sublime, both outwardly and inwardly. A household of vampires could be nothing if not silent, and the silence of my thoughts, while unnerving, was welcome. No mermaid cries, no bombardments, no intrusions. My thoughts were once again my own.

I had forgotten what that felt like.

And because of that quiet I could hear when Carlisle, Jasper and Edward returned.

"How is she?" Edward's strained voice broke the tranquillity.

"She's been very quiet," Rose responded. It sounded like she was downstairs.

"Little squirt hasn't made a sound all night," Emmett added, sounding grim.

"Alice and Esme cleaned the wounds," Rose continued, "She's sleeping now."

She sounded oddly sensitive for the Rose I had come to know. Even with her newer 'attempt-to-tolerate-the-human' scheme she had never been this nice or sounded so genuinely concerned. But then a lot could change in four weeks. My absence could have changed a lot.

"So how are the Quileutes now?" Emmett prompted.

"Calmer," Jasper answered. "Most are happier now that she's gone, even if they won't admit it. Sam put forward a compelling case to have her away from their tribe. It was only really Balthazar and Paul that offered any dissent."

"And they are…?" Emmett said.

"Not happy," Jasper said. "Well, we can't please everyone. And they all know that Bella is already a part of this family. To keep her from us would be to incite war."

"Jasper," Carlisle said. It sounded like a warning.

"It's true," he continued, "and they know that, which is why I think they caved so easily. I think the main issue was that we removed her through subterfuge. Most of them don't trust vampires as it is, and some thought we had trespassed onto their land, unescorted, to steal her away. Once Jacob, Leah and Seth spoke up the uproar settled down."

"And _you_ settled the rest?" Emmett sniggered.

"I can't be blamed for wanting to temper high tensions," Jasper said slyly. "It was for the betterment of all concerned."

"So, are we all good now?" Emmett asked, "with the wolves, I mean?"

"Yes," Carlisle sighed, "for now."

Jasper spoke next. "At least going down there gave me a chance to check-out the clean-up operation. Everything is being taken care of: the boat-parts taken away, the bodies removed… It'll look like nothing monumental has happened by morning. There won't be anything for the human population to find, which means no news coverage and no Volturi. We might just get past this unscathed."

"That's good," Emmett said. "As much as I'd like to 'go a round' with those pompous Italian swines now really isn't a good time."

"How many bodies did they find?" Rosalie asked quietly.

Beside Esme, I tensed.

"Several mermaids," Carlisle said.

"…And the humans?"

His voice was wary. "There were not so much bodies as… parts."

"Huh," Emmet said slowly, "they don't just drink blood like we do, then?"

Silence.

Emmett broke it. "So this Balthazar guy… he wanted to keep Bella?"

"Yes," Jasper said, "for 'questioning' as he put it. Edward said he had… certain plans for her. I believe he wished to extract information about the others she was with."

"Uh-huh," Emmett deadpanned, "so he wanted to torture her."

"We put a stop to those plans before they could be enacted," Edward hissed, sounding upset. "That man will never lay a hand on her."

"Seconded," Jasper added.

"Third…ed," Emmett added, "…or however you say it."

"What Emmett means," Rosalie inserted smoothly, "is that none of us will allow him to get near her, Edward. You have our word on that. I may not have been particularly welcoming to her in the past, but she is your fiancée and my sister. I will not allow it either."

Carlisle added, "You know that she has our unconditional protection, son."

"Thank you, Rose," Edward said, "Thank you all."

There was a round of muttering. Then Edward asked, "How does she seem physically?"

"Bruised," Rose said.

"And psychologically…?" he persisted.

"Bruised." There was a pause. "Edward, she's been through a lot. She's going to need time to recover. Be happy that we got her back at all. She may be a little sad but…"

"I _am_ happy that we have her, Rose, believe me, I just…" He sighed. "I don't like not knowing what to do for her, _or_ being parted from her. On that note, I'm going up to see her, if you will excuse me."

The faint whistle of air announced his arrival, and the hint of honey and violets it carried. I could see him from the corner of my eye, the bronze-tips of his windswept hair caught and blazed in the morning light as he stood in his doorway watching us.

It was clear where Edward wanted to be, but I had my arms wrapped around Esme now, while Alice hugged me from behind, and as long as he was here, his presence was enough, and I was content not to move. Greedily, I wanted them all. If I had my way I'd have been embracing them all just as fiercely – even Rose – and I'd never let go.

Edward sighed, moving to sit on the end of the bed. With Esme tenderly stroking my hair and Alice's cooling palm against the bandaged flesh of my stomach, I was completely content. Everything was perfect. Everything was in its right place.

I wormed a hand out, reaching blindly. Marble coolness surrounded it in a gentle grip.

"Sleep now, love," he crooned.

What could have been hours or days later, I did.

…

**15 pages *cracks fingers and wipes brow* Hope you liked it!**** :) **


	30. Chapter 30 - Nothing is ever that easy

**Thank you all for the great messages! :) **

**Note: I hummed and harred about this chapter… there might be some stuff towards the end that is sensitive to some people. If it is, I apologise, I tried to be delicate. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 30: Nothing is ever that easy – BPOV

"Please, Bella, for me. Please eat something."

I just stared at the food Edward offered to me forlornly, before flopping down and tucking my head safely back into the pillow. Where he sat, perched on the edge of the bed, his shoulders slumped. I heard him sigh.

"You can't blame her really, that stuff smells horrible," Alice said from the doorway, trying to lighten the atmosphere no doubt. No one laughed.

They had been at this for days now, each of them trying to ply me with food by presenting one inedible dish after another: steak-fillet, mushroom ravioli, roast chicken, salad, ice-cream, scrambled eggs, pop-tarts, pastry snacks and mixed fruit… The list was endless. They had possibly presented me with every food this side of the Pacific. It was like they thought it was Thanksgiving. But nothing was appetising. No human food was.

"Please," Edward implored, he leaned down to catch my gaze. His golden eyes seared mine, beseeching. "You have to eat something, Bella."

_Or someone_, my mind , I felt dish of piping-hot tomato and basil soup that Edward held now looked even less appealing than it had before. His voice was so endearing, so pleading, but I just couldn't find it within me to respond in any way, even to push the bowl or the spoon he held away.

Mutinously, my stomach growled in support, or maybe snarled was a better word. The prospect of food, any food, was enticing. There was a time when I would have scoffed the lot, croutons and all, with gusto, but now only one thought came to mind: _Ick! _

I couldn't eat it. Riana said human food was as inedible to us as pig swill, and even if she wasn't to be believed I had tried it for myself, to my detriment – a meatball and cheese sub that had been abandoned on a rocky shore by a picnicking family I had watched one day, it had still been freshly wrapped and I could imagine the smell to be nothing short of sublime… but in my haste I didn't take the time to sniff. After the third bite, once I'd really tasted what I was eating, the nausea had hit, and the stomach cramps hadn't left for three days. Riana nursed me through the worst of it, supplying a constant stream of 'I told you so's' muttered directly into my ears. She was the Queen of Sympathy that girl. I wasn't sure which was worse, the cramps or Riana's smugness. Either way, the experience had taught me never to make that mistake again… No matter how hungry I was, it could always get worse.

The lack of food, though, was making me weary, and sad…

"I know, Jasper," Edward said after a moment, and judging by the scraping noise he had just placed the bowl back on the bedside table. "What do you expect me to do?" He sounded so lost. But I was too far gone – lost in my own torrent of depression – to think of how to help.

Edward paused for a moment, then said, "okay."

A flood of calm descended upon me with stifling severity. I cringed away from it, but it battered against my mind relentlessly.

"Jazz," Edward said, sounding worried.

I pushed it back but I was so tired that the effort it took was almost overwhelming. It was like pushing up against a solid sliding wall, the kind you see in an Indiana Jones movie. I could try but ultimately the wall would win out. I just wasn't strong enough to stop it.

That was always the problem, I was never strong enough.

"Jazz." It sounded more like a warning now.

I lost and the calm slammed into me with the force of a tidal wave. I buckled under the pressure and my will gave out, drinking it in.

"Jazz." He sounded weary now, exasperated.

_It's funny_, I thought, idly drifting into sleep, _how tone can mean so much more than simple words alone_. In that moment I was almost giddy.

"You weren't supposed to send her to sleep. I need to get her to eat." Despite his words, Edward sounded, if anything, relieved.

"Well, look at it this way, at least she's not sad anymore," Jasper said. "It's odd, you know. The ways she's feeling… it's almost like withdrawal." More silence. "Maybe she'll be more inclined to accept food when she wakes. Supposedly, sleep is a great healer."

_If only sleep could heal me_, I mused. _It would be nice if it were that simple_.

…

I was unsure of how long I slept. It didn't really seem to matter, time held little consequence in my current state. When my eyes drifted open, no one was there. My room was empty. Daylight filtered in through Edward's wall-to-wall windows and ignited the room with colour, the gold duvet on the bed shone. It was unusual for me to find myself alone for any one moment, but, after blinking away my sleep, I recognised voices in the hallway.

Carlisle was by the open door. I couldn't see him but his voice rang clear.

"I wonder if those gills of hers are impeding her speech," he was saying, "I know I said not to push her, to let her try to talk in her own time, but perhaps the reason why she has not spoken yet is that she physically _can't_. You remember the phone conversation you had with her, Edward, where she used the rock to answer."

He paused for a moment, in which Edward said, "distinctly."

"I know we assumed at the time that her captors had gagged her or that she was too afraid to speak, but maybe the reason was that she physically couldn't and the rock-tapping was the only method of communication she had."

"I think you're right, Carlisle." Edward's voice was exasperated. "It certainly makes a lot of sense. And when that first girl approached the men in the boats she communed with no form of language I've ever heard. It was more like a series of clicks."

"Yes, I noticed that too. It is very odd…"

"The strange thing is that the man _responded_ as if she had spoken English. In his head it was as if she had, though none around him could hear her the same way as him."

"I have no explanation for that," Carlisle sighed, and there was a rustle of fabric. It sounded like he had placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. "It's just a theory. Perhaps it will take a while for her to re-acquire speech, perhaps she just needs to adjust and learn to speak _around_ the still-present gills. Perhaps she can no longer communicate in our language."

"That's a lot of perhaps'." Edward sighed. "Perhaps she simply does not wish to talk to me."

"Perhaps," he conceded, "though I think not. Bella loves you, son. She always will."

"I let her down," Edward deadpanned. "I wasn't there when she needed me most. She has every right not to speak to me. I…"

Quiet fell and under its veil I could not discern the muted mutterings.

"As to the lack of speech," Carlisle said, a little louder now, "I _am_ making a lot of assumptions based on little knowledge. Perhaps we should try the 'paper and crayon' approach?"

"No. Not yet, Carlisle. I think that she needs more time to adjust to being home."

A pause. "Has she still not eaten anything?"

"Nothing," Edward replied.

"She doesn't have any apparent injuries that would prevent her eating." Carlisle sighed. "Perhaps the problem there is psychological. Jasper told me how she has been… feeling."

That last statement seemed to break down a wall and Edward was suddenly anything but calm.

"It's like I've lost her again, Carlisle," he stressed, "as soon as I've got her back. When she looks at me it's like there's nobody there. I don't know what to do, what to say… I don't know what else I can _do_." By the end his voice was strained, almost beseeching.

"She's been through a lot, Edward. We have to remember that. In the month that she has been gone we have no idea what she's been through, but judging by what we saw in that bay… and the scene we came across when we eventually tracked the phone… it may be that she is retaining a lot of memories she'd rather not remember, but cannot simply forget… Give her time, son. That's what she needs. After all the two of you have been through I have no doubt that you will overcome this obstacle too, together. I have faith in you."

Edward let out a shaky breath and Carlisle noticeable redirected the subject.

"With such physical alterations it's difficult to estimate just how extensively this… _change_… has affected her. It may not only be her voice-box that is affected. We have to face the very real possibility that there may be other changes as well, ones that we cannot predict. There may be more things that are yet to show."

Edward sighed wearily. "I really hope you're wrong about that Carlisle."

_So do I_, I quietly added, but I doubted it as much as Edward clearly did.

…

Today I was going to get up. I was determined. No more days of bed-rest, doctor-prescribed or not. I was going to take _myself_ to the bathroom for a change, Goddamnit!

"Bella, please," Edward coaxed while I scowled. "Just let me carry you in. I'll give you privacy, as usual. And you can just knock on the wall when you wish to come out."

_No_, I was _through_ with this system. For the past two days, since I had regained enough coherency to state my 'human-needs' by a simple head-bob in the direction of the bathroom, he had been carting me back and forth like an invalid. But I wasn't an invalid. I was very capable of looking after myself, and now that I was more with it I could do it myself.

I had two legs now, after all, not just one tail.

"Bella." I pushed his hand gently but firmly away.

Edward meant well but he had to let me do this alone. When his hands dropped, I threw back the covers and moved my legs to drape over the side of the bed. They felt weirdly limp. I frowned down at them. Besides the cold I couldn't seem to feel much in them.

"Is everything alright?" Edward asked, leaning forward as if he were about to help.

I shook my head resolutely. I wouldn't have him helping me walk; it was bad enough that he had to help me out so much when I was a mere human. I would not, _refused not_, to be even weaker, even _more_ of a burden to him now.

I placed my feet squarely on the floor and heaved myself up off of the bed. Before I was fully erect I crashed to the ground. I never hit it, of course, Edward would never allow that. His arms snapped around my waist like steel cables and they held me fast, pulling me close, while I stared at my legs with a mixture of confusion and shock… and betrayal. I was being silly, maybe a little paranoid, but I felt as if my own body was betraying me. I knew it was a ridiculous concept but I felt as if it was rebelling against me simply to add to my pain.

"Let me-" Edward started.

Whatever he was going to say was cut short by my deep-throated growl. It was the first true sound I had made since my return and I think that, more than anything, kept him quiet.

Not meeting his gaze, I clenched my hands on his arms and glared at the offending limbs as I willed strength back into them. Trembling, I forced them to take my weight until, with Edward's support, I stood.

There, that wasn't so bad.

One step had me crumpling to the floor again.

Edward's arms encircled my waist again as my face hovered a foot from the carpet.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was anxious as he pulled me upright.

Attempting to concentrate in the safety of his arms, I wiggled my toes, only, they didn't wiggle on command. Striving for calm, I took a deep breath and slowly tried to lift one foot, then the other. The top half's moved but the lower limbs just, dangled; limp like a ragdoll's.

The horrifying realisation hit me then… I could barely even feel them.

"Bella, what-" Edward started but was interrupted.

"Edward."

Jasper appeared in the doorway. He was frowning down at me where I hovered half-crumpled at Edward's waist. It took me a moment to realise that he was reading me, that he could tell exactly how upset I was… and that Edward was reading it directly from him in turn. My emotional climate decided to go bi-polar then and I was suddenly incredibly angry and embarrassed. Flushing red, I tried to straighten myself and take another step, but all _that_ resulted in was me struggling in Edward's grasp, becoming more and more upset.

"I don't think she can use her legs," Jasper said, with mild shock.

The moment he spoke I froze.

There, he'd said it.

My fear was finally coming to light. Now I had to face that very real possibility.

Edward was stonily still for only a second, before he swung me up in his arms and carried me down the corridor calling for Carlisle.

Twenty minutes later I was still in Carlisle's office, with my legs dangling uselessly over his examination table while he knocked at them with something that resembled a hammer. He didn't seem to be getting much of a response and I just stared at them dejectedly.

The diagnosis was bleak.

Carlisle sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Bella. I don't think there's much I can do."

I'd guessed as much, but still… it hurt to know.

Unable to lift my eyes to meet Edward's, I kept my gaze fixed on the 17th century rug on the floor, trying vainly to occupy my mind by etching its patterns, rather than face the reality of Carlisle's words. I felt as though I had let Edward down in some fundamental way – one that I couldn't name with or without a voice.

First it was the voice, now it was the legs. Slowly, more and more pieces of me seemed to be falling apart. I had returned to him broken, like some crappy manufactured Christmas present that looks pristine in its little package, but the instant its removed bits start to fall off. Maybe this was what Mara meant when she had said that mermaids could not survive on land. Maybe this was only the beginning of bad things. That thought sent me spiralling down the fast road to despair.

"It'll be okay, Bella," Carlisle said. "We'll think of something. There are options that we can explore yet…"

They tried to console me, but I was in no mood to listen to words I could no longer speak back. At some point it must have become obvious that I wasn't listening, as I found myself in Edward's arms again, being carried back to his room.

My head fell back and I watched the pattern of the white ceiling swoosh past.

In Edward's room, he pulled back the quilts and settled us down. I lay quietly across his chest, tucking my cheek into the nook at his collarbone while he arranged the bed around us.

For the next hour he lay there telling me it was going to be okay. He was wrong. It was _never_ going to be _okay_. I couldn't move my legs. I couldn't eat normal food. I couldn't even speak. Had he thought through all the implications of this? Had he really thought about what kind of life that would entail for the both of us?

I wondered briefly how I was going to get to the bathroom for the rest of my life, then slammed the door shut on that thought, stopping it in its tracks.

A disabled fiancée or a disabled wife… I bet he'd never thought that he'd have to deal with that for eternity. For, know it or not, I was ageless now, as immortal as all other mermaids. He could try to change me, of course, like we had planned. He could try to make me like him and solve all this in one blow. But I doubted that vampire venom would even work on me now, what with all the freaky mermaid venom coursing through my system. I remembered hearing from someone that vampire venom did not work on werewolves, in fact, it was fatal to them. What if the same was true for me now? What if his venom could actually kill me? I bet Edward had thought of all of this already. He was always so thorough. I bet that was what made him so sad. So, a disabled wife it was then. And it got even better: a disabled, mute, be-gilled, mermaid wife, who had a craving for human blood that she hadn't even confessed to yet. Real catch there.

Ha-ha! Mermaid… catch… _real_ funny with the mental fish joke there, Swan.

I didn't really find it funny though. My thoughts were bitter.

That he craved human blood too really didn't make a difference, it was beside the point.

He probably wouldn't want me as a wife now, anyway. I wouldn't want me.

Elizabeth Masen's ring glittered in the dim light of dusk, still inexplicably attached to my finger after everything it had been through. I stared at it morosely. I couldn't be the wife Edward deserved, he deserved so much better than this. But even as my thoughts wandered down that depressing avenue, I knew he would still take me – in sickness and in health – it wouldn't matter to him, however desperate our situation became. I just felt that, after all we had been through in the short time that we had been together, we deserved some reprieve.

We deserved something good.

My eyes wandered up to meet his then. I didn't know whether he had just stopped talking now, or if he had stopped a while ago, but the instant our eyes met he gathered me in his arms and just held me. I clung to him too, scrunching up the fabric of his shirt in trembling fists. And in that moment it was enough, just to hold and be held.

I was a lame excuse for a human and now I was a lame mermaid. Figures.

"I love you, Bella," he said to the darkness as he breathed into my hair. "Never doubt that. It won't ever change."

…

**Okay, so that was a bit glum. The next chapter gets a bit more cheerful. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the States!**** :) **


	31. Chapter 31 - Buffet Supreme

**Thanks for all of the messages! As always, you guys give great support and feedback. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 31: Buffet Supreme – BPOV

_Perhaps I need to go back to the sea_…

A cloying veil of despondency had settled upon me in the last two days. All the joy and relief I had felt at finally returning home had evaporated into the ether like so much smoke. I could not pin-point the exact reason for this. I was home, I had Edward, Alice and the family; none looked on me with disgust, and none regarded me as anything different or unusual. So why was I so… depressed? A suffocating weight settled on my chest. At first I attributed the new inexplicable attitude to the lack of food – a grumbling tummy will bring anyone down – Or the lameness. But now I was beginning to suspect that it was something altogether other…

Early this morning, I awoke to hear Edward debating in the hall with Carlisle.

"There _is_ something that we haven't tried her with," he was saying, "I know that you don't like the idea. I know that we're all ignoring it. But that doesn't change the fact-"

He halted abruptly. The door closed with a soft click. I heard nothing more after that. And Edward had said nothing later when he had ventured into the room. But there was something in his eyes that was different; something in their dark recesses… It looked like determination. That was the last time I had seen him today…

"Bella, sweetheart," Esme interrupted my reverie and I looked up to see her sweet and smiling face framed by flowing locks of caramel. She was so beautiful. "Will you at least try something to eat?" she coaxed.

We were in the kitchen, just Esme and me. After Carlisle, Emmett, Alice and Rosalie had managed to drag Edward out of the house for a hunt, Esme had taken it upon herself to try an experiment of sorts, and, carrying me down the stairs, she had plopped me down on a kitchen stool and flitted about the kitchen: chopping, grating, sortieing and dicing.

She was a woman on a mission.

And now, at the culmination of said mission, I sat staring at the vast array of food Esme had laid out before me… with total remorse.

Roast pork glazed with honey, turkey with herbal stuffing, roast potatoes, pasta dishes (some of which I swear had come directly from Bella Italia), ice-cream, meringues, cakes… every dish ranging from the most pretentious to the most informal was there.

_More food_, I inwardly sighed. _So much more food… and all would go to waste…_

She had even gone as far as to prepare things as simple as sandwiches. I couldn't eat it, any of it, not anymore, and she had gone to such effort to prepare this!

Guilt flooded me.

I was suddenly shamelessly glad that I was now mute. I didn't want to voice any complaint, and that thought in itself increased my guilt.

The only other Cullen that remained in the house was Jasper, and he was seated in the living room perusing an old book titled: 'The War of Northern Aggression: North Carolina'. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him watching me over his book. He soon put it down and glided over. His look was assessing. Oh, the guilt! My emotions must have been discernible.

He watched me a moment longer, frowning slightly, before he turned to Esme.

"I don't think she _can_ eat any of this. I think _that's_ what the problem is."

Instantly my face twisted in a grimace and I tried to apologise with my eyes to Esme, since I no longer had the luxury of coherent words.

To my surprise she didn't even look upset. She flitted around the table to my side with a small smile and a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It's alright, dear. No need to worry. We'll just have to find something that you _do_ like."

Another small smile quirked my lips as I looked at her. _Easier said than done_,I thought. It made it much more difficult when I couldn't communicate with them.

But they both seemed to sense my challenge.

"You know," Jasper said, deep in thought, "she has been living in the sea for several weeks and she doesn't appear malnourished." Frowning he tapped his chin, while his eyes grew distant. "Maybe seafood is the answer," he finally said, looking at me.

I smiled with genuine warmth.

"We've been focussing on human food," Jasper continued, "assuming that she still adheres to a purely human diet. But she isn't purely human anymore, are you?"

No I was not.

Esme immediately moved the calamari and the tuna sandwiches to the front of the buffet. I sniffed obligingly but cooked and processed as the food was, it just smelt… _wrong_.

My shoulders slumped and my eyes dropped to the floor again.

"Maybe," Jasper said, studying me again as if I were an interesting puzzle, "she can't eat it cooked. It's not like other sea-creatures sit around campfires with their catches."

Esme flitted back to her stock-piled refrigerator.

"I think I have some sardines in stock," she said as she routed, "they're not filleted. I didn't prepare them because I thought Bella wouldn't-"

I didn't wait for her to finish, I hopped off my stool to stumble towards the fridge to retrieve the fish myself. Or at least I would have, if my damned feet could have stood up right on the floor. The instant they hit the ground I was falling, Jasper caught me before I hit the floor, of course, and swung me up in his arms.

For a moment I was shocked. Jasper had never held me before. Then I had a brief moment of mental exasperation – _this is worse than when I was a high school human_. The last thing I thought I'd carry over into an immortal life would be supernatural klutziness. But since it was me, it wasn't that surprising.

Jasper laughed. "I think she likes the idea of sardines."

I smiled guiltily.

He carried me around to the fridge, where Esme handed me the packet.

"Would you like me to…?" Esme began, but her voice trailed off as I ripped into the packaging, too ravenous to care about my unceremonious behaviour.

My budding fangs tore into the fish, relishing in the oily skin and sweet tender flesh – not as good as fresh sea-food but at this point I was starving, so on principal it was fantastic. I could almost imagine my stomach snatching up the food with wild, snapping teeth, desperate for the nutrients. I closed my eyes, savouring the taste and the sweet relief to my aching stomach. Too soon they were all gone. Every single bit of them, even the bones.

It was a while before I came back to myself, and remembered that I was with Esme and Jasper and making a complete fool of myself. Not to mention the disgusting behaviour. Vampires didn't like human food, and even most humans would have a hard time stomaching raw sardines.

Suddenly realising that my hands were coated in slime and my chin was dripping with fish oil, I became mortified. My face flushed a deep crimson in less than a second.

Esme and Jasper, however, were smiling.

"I was beginning to think that there was nothing you _would_ eat," Esme said as Jasper carried me to the closest kitchen stool and carefully set me down there.

"Is there anymore?" he said, "I think she's still hungry."

He _knew _I was still hungry. Since he had no trouble feeling the other's thirsts, I thought he would have no trouble feeling my hunger as well. My stomach growled in support.

Esme glanced back in the fridge. "No, that was all there was."

"I guess that means another trip to the supermarket," Jasper sighed, but softened it with a smile. A wave of relief flowed over me that was not my own. Wandering into the living room, he fetched a set of keys from a bowl. "At this rate I might just give off the impression that I'm actually human."

He didn't sound resentful in the least, he sounded happy. I guess my unresponsive state had worried more than just Edward.

"Any preferences?" he asked, coming to kneel in front of me. "Tuna, squid, lobster…?"

I shrugged. It wasn't like I could answer anyway.

"So, I'll just buy up the entire unprocessed fish section then," he said with a grin before rising and flitting out of the door.

The second he was gone, Esme replaced him. She bent down in front of me with a damp cloth to mop up the mess around my mouth and dipped my hands in a bowl of hot lemon-water. She didn't even seem to mind the fangs. I could feel them there, indenting my lower lip. She could not have failed to notice them, but she made no comment about them, for which I was grateful. She was so sweet to me, I didn't deserve such kindness, and I was mortified that she had to clean me up like I was a child. I'd have to be more careful with my meals in future.

Since my hearing was much more acute than a human's, I heard clearly when Jasper greeted the others as they returned. He must have been about to leave in one of the cars.

"She's eating again," he said. I could just _hear_ the smile in his voice.

"She is!" The relief in Edward's voice was tangible. "Wha-"

"Sardines," he answered.

"_Fish_…" Edward groaned, likely at the obviousness, "Could you-"

"Already on my way to the store, bro."

A car door opened and shut, an engine ignited.

In the short time of their conversation, Esme had cleaned me up _and _she had cleaned up the evidence that she'd had to, for which I was unbelievably grateful. Especially as in the following seconds I was suddenly surrounded by vampires.

Edward was at my side first, leaning down to examine me closely. Feeling the happy weight in my stomach I smiled up at him and in return he beamed, placing his nicely chilled hands on either cheek as he scrutinised my face.

"There's already more colour in her cheeks." His voice was strained but it held thinly veiled hope. Had I really scared him so much? In the sea I could go days without fish.

"And on the whole she looks a lot less pale," Carlisle added at his side.

"Her skin's flushing!" Alice bounced. "Look it's actually pink!"

"That's probably because the attention is embarrassing her, pet," Esme lightly scolded.

"Oh." Alice bobbed back, flapping her hands contritely. "Oh, right, yes, sorry."

But I could barely focus on their voices or my embarrassment as Edward's hands began to lightly stroke my skin, then, caress the length of each cheek, across my forehead, around my jaw, with an intimacy and sincere gentleness that had been lost to me in the last month.

My underwater sisters weren't exactly the cuddly types, and even if they had been, it was unlikely that I would have sort their comfort.

His touch was nothing but chaste, but still, it triggered another less virtuous side of my nature that awoke a fire beneath my skin. I had been away from him for a long time…

I blushed and Alice laughed delightedly. "Look, now there's even _more_ colour in her cheeks!"

I didn't have the will to scowl at her when her giddy relief was so plain.

"Well done, Esme," Edward whispered then, his eyes never leaving mine.

"It's not me you should be thanking. It's your brother who worked it out."

"Then he will be receiving a rather extravagant gift very soon."

Alice moved closer then, assessing me while she spoke, "You did say to Bella once that you were going to give that silver bike to him. And he's been admiring it for weeks…"

"Gift solved then," Edward said, "It's his. So…" he continued, drawing me in with his molten gaze, "it was fish all along then?"

"Well this is awesome," Emmett chuffed. "Now all we have to do is get her to speak."

"Emmett," Esme said quietly, "One thing at a time."

"Well, at least now Edward can call off his cadaver plan," he added, at low volume. "If she's eating fish, then we don't have to chop up no-"

"-_Emmett_," Esme hissed, at an even lower tone.

"But, hang on," Alice said, and frowned. Confusion indented her brow. "We offered her several fish dishes already: poached haddock, tuna fry, mash and scallops. Edward and I tried _them_ first. They seemed the logical choices."

"It seems that only raw, non-processed fish is suitable for her diet now," Esme explained, "nothing else will suffice. It's likely that she can no longer tolerate other foods."

"Hmm," Carlisle said, with an unspoken undertone that clearly said 'fascinating' while Alice sat down beside me and offered up a strange looking roll. "Try the sushi, Bella. That's made of raw fish. No cooking involved at all." I tentatively took a nip…It wasn't too bad.

"I have an idea!" Emmett stated, and he was off, gone before anyone could think to ask.

"What…?" Esme started, but Edward just shook his head, smiling.

We moved out of the kitchen after that. Edward carried me bridal-style into the living room and set me down between his legs on the sofa while the others took up seats around the pristine white living space. I reclined happily against Edward's chest as they all discussed this new development, happy to let their voices roll around me. As they spoke, one of Edward's arms tightened around my waist while the other stroked my cheeks or played with strands of my hair, twirling them around his fingers in rhythmic, soothing patterns.

This was nice, this was peaceful. This was what I had been hoping for.

None of them had pestered me for details or plied me with questions since my return. None of them had tried to make me speak. They all seemed to know that I had lost the ability to, or at least assumed that I had, but their continued lack of probing seemed to be about more than that. They were giving me space, and time. They were simply exulting in the fact that I was home, safe and unharmed (Edward had already confessed, many times, that they had all feared they would never get me back at all). And all the rest – all of the unanswered questions – could wait for now, or forever…

Halfway through Carlisle's explanation of a new theory regarding my 'pulmonary enhancements', Edward frowned and his head snapped towards the door.

"Emmett, what the-"

"Not in the house, Emmett!" Alice shouted quickly, with a flinch, and stood. "Esme will kill you if you get that on her carpets. Stay there, I'll bring Bella out to you."

She flitted to where Edward and I lay sprawled and held out her arms. In response Edward's arms tightened.

"Not a chance," he all but growled, "do you think that for any second I have with her I am letting her out of my sight."

Alice sighed dramatically. "She won't _leave your sight_. I was only going to carry her out to the front lawn."

"Which I am _also_ quite capable of doing, Alice."

Shifting me slightly so that one of his arms cradled my back while the other held the back of my legs, he waited until I had a good hold around his neck, and stood, smirking.

Alice threw up her arms. "Always such a drama-queen," she mumbled.

"Alice," Esme warned.

She scowled. And from the outside lawn, Emmett called, "You guys coming out or what?"

Edward carried me out, Alice trailing in his wake. My eyes immediately adjusted to the dim light of dusk. Emmett was standing in the middle of the front yard, with two massive black buckets the size of barrels in either arm. _What on Earth…?_ They clunked as he set them to the ground, sloshing their contents and spraying the lawn.

"I think this is a bad jest, Emmett," Edward said sternly as we approached.

"What," he objected, "I'm being completely serious!"

I frowned at the buckets and sniffed the air, whatever they contained was salty… briny, it carried the scent of the sea. I looked up in inquiry.

"I thought our little sea-monkey here might like a snack," Emmett smiled, lifting out a clod of what appeared to be dark and wet rubbery plastic.

"Seaweed, Emmett?" Alice said sceptically, her hands on her hips. "I really don't think that's the kind of thing she needs. And Jasper will only be a few more minutes."

He shrugged and raised some towards me. "But she's hungry now. Couldn't hurt to-"

The words were barely out of his mouth as I reached eagerly for the tattered weeds, nearly falling from Edward's arms in the process, and immediately started to gnaw on a strip, ripping it with my teeth and chewing. Kelp! Yum!

They all stared at me blankly for a moment. The only sound that filled the air was my eager munching and tearing.

Edward raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Nice one, Em."

"Ah, it's nice to be appreciated," he smiled smugly, enjoying the moment. He glanced back down at his buckets and began routing around in their contents again. "I also got some mussels, some cockles, and I even brought a crab." He snagged the last with a lightning-quick flick of his wrist and drew the writhing creature out into the light. It struggled uselessly in his grip. "Nippy little sucker didn't wanna come home," he grinned.

I paused in my chewing to smile up at Emmett, and in return he winked.

"Thanks," I said earnestly, but all that came out was a strange series of Mermish clicks.

The crab splashed back into the bucket. Everyone stared at me completely nonplussed, although it had made perfect sense to me. After an embarrassingly awkward moment, I went back to chewing on my weed.

"Did she just… speak?" Emmett indicated to me.

"I think she did," Edward said slowly, and even though there was no way he could have understood what I said, a smile gradually emerged across his face.

It was like the sun breaking through the rain.

Emmett's shoulder shook with his laughter. "Wait until Jazz gets back and hears that he missed this! Nothing's ever boring with you around, Swan. That's for sure."

…

**See, she just needed a little time to buck up. Hey, she's been through a lot.**** :) **


	32. Chapter 32 - Learning

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! Yes, I know it's been 2 weeks. :s It's been a hectic fortnight leading up to Christmas, and, for those of you who don't know, I've sold two of my small original pieces to different publishers – so I've been dealing with contracts too. So exciting! Well, here's something to tide you over for the holidays (*whispers* 20 pages). Happy Christmas! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 32: Learning – BPOV

"So," Carlisle said as he tapped a pen against the notebook he had propped open on his desk, "it appears that out of water you communicate principally using a series of clicks and high-pitched sonar frequencies that most human ears cannot register. And your voice seems to become… err… how shall I put this… _shrill_… above water." He was being delicate. The expression he was looking for was 'painful on the ears'. I had seen them all cringe.

Smiling, I simply nodded. No need to say anything _shrill_.

Behind the great mahogany desk, Carlisle's pen scratched away. And while he made his notes I took the opportunity to look around. The office was just the same as it had always been – an odd mixture of ancient history and modern design, retro-sheik. Old tomes lined the bookcase, interspersed with modern texts and periodicals. All of which seemed to have a specifically designated place and purpose, even if I could not fathom his order. The walls, where I could see them behind the bookcases, were neat and white, and the floor was polished wood, covered in a Persian rug of delicate saffron. There was also, of course, the huge portrait of the Volturi Lords that dominated the southern wall. It made me shiver more these days than it ever had before.

Carlisle had had me in his office for most of the afternoon. My legs swung absently from the examination table on which I was propped, while he occupied the large armchair behind his somewhat intimidating desk. He had offered me a seat, of course, gentleman that he is, but I had declined with a shake of my head. My legs felt freer this way, and the more that I worked with them the more they seemed to improve. Perhaps it was imagination, or wishful thinking, but the more I swung them about inanely, the more balance I seemed to regain. Not that my balance had ever been that good in the first place, but anything that allowed me to obtain a better state of equilibrium was good, right?

"Yes," Carlisle said.

I made a high-pitch click and nodded.

"No," he continued.

I made a low-pitch click and shook my head.

"Noise _and_ gestures combined," he murmured, making a note in his journal.

This is what we were doing: Carlisle had a mind to compile an 'English-to-Mermish' dictionary, and I was helping him in this venture. It was a good idea and he seemed genuinely thrilled at the prospect of learning a new language. More than that, I think he would be the first Vampire in the history of the world to speak it – Unless Kiera had taught Randall. It did make me feel like something of a lab-monkey, but in the end I didn't mind. This was Carlisle after all, and the end result should be nothing but beneficial to me. I still didn't know what he had done with the scales Esme must have given him, though.

Three days in and we were doing pretty well. Carlisle was managing the varying tones admirably, perfectly reciting both frequency and pitch (although, his pronunciation was a little off… not that I was going to tell him that).

"One," he continued.

_Click._

"Two."

_Click, click_.

"Three."

_Click, click, click._

I smiled as he looked up. He grinned too.

"I'm starting to see the pattern," he said. "Numerical values have a place."

Edward wandered in then, as he often did, to observe our progress.

"Edward!" I exclaimed with a delighted smile, which, obviously, came out as nothing discernible at all – Simply a long mermish click followed by a short one.

He smiled, regardless, already understanding _that one_ and strolled over to lean against the table beside me, his arm encircling my waist. I leant into him gladly.

"Four," Carlisle continued.

_Click click, click click_.

"Surely you cannot carry on that way." He shook his head with an amused smile, "How about… twenty-seven?"

Two distinct clicks, a pause, followed by seven.

"Okay." He made a note before looking back, "How about hundreds? How do you express those kinds of units?"

At that all I could do was shrug. Mermaids never really dealt with units of that size, or at least _I_ hadn't in the short time I had been with them, so I hadn't learnt how. It was either 'a little' or 'a lot' when the numbers became big. Mermaids didn't think in such 'human terms'.

I sighed. Sometimes it really would be so much easier if Edward could just read my mind and explain it all for me. As I looked up at him, I realised that he must have been thinking exactly the same thing. I smiled and tapped his head knowingly with my forefinger.

He barked out a laugh at that, understanding flooding his eyes with warmth.

"Should I get the joke?" Carlisle asked.

"She's saying that this would be so much easier if I could just read her mind." He laughed with Carlisle, "Oh the irony."

"Quite," Carlisle agreed.

I snuggled closer into Edward's side and quietly made a click that was almost a rolled 'r', followed by a short staccato click.

Edward smiled down at me. Repeating the gesture he added "too" and kissed the top of my head.

Carlisle didn't ask for a translation for that one.

We carried on in this way for a good while, working long after dark. A lot of the time I found that there was no Mermish word for everyday objects. For example, why would a mermaid talk about chairs when we never sat, or pizza that we never ate? We certainly didn't bother with TV; being underwater the signal was awful. Not to mention the whole not-getting-electronic-devices-wet… thing. Carlisle seemed to catch onto my trail of thought easily enough and was soon only asking for words like: fish, kelp or sand. He deviated into concepts such as: danger, help and happy. Then there were the more ambiguous words.

"Blood?" he asked.

I hissed.

Carlisle's head snapped up. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, smiling to emphasise the fact. He slowly dropped his gaze again.

"Blood?" he repeated

_Hisssss…_

He looked up again and watched me for a short while, before he quietly exclaimed "Oh" and made a note of it. He did not pursue that line of etymology further.

Soon Edward, who had remained quiet for the most part and simply observed, began to participate, adding words of interest to him. Once the pair of them got going they became quite animated, exchanging theories and ideas as to the origins of certain words.

Edward leaned forward, his eyes bright as he watched me.

"What happens when you try to say an English word and not its mermish equivalent?" he asked, keenly monitoring my reaction. He half-turned to Carlisle. "I'm wondering if these clicks and echoes _are_ simply how her voice-box reacts to the sounds now, because I don't think it is. Some of the consonants and vowels, some of the inflections are vastly different…"

"Hmm, another language completely?" Carlisle pondered. "Perhaps you are onto something, Edward."

"Bella," he said, looking to me, "try to say hello, but in plain English, no clicking."

_No clicking…?_ I grimaced. That was not a good idea. They wouldn't like it. And as we were not only above water but in a confined room, it was likely to be worse…

"Bella," Edward's golden eyes pleaded his case, "please. It'll be alright."

Those eyes smouldered, those eyes dazzled…

"Are you sure-" I started – only to have my words overridden by a screech. The sound cut, the sound _pierced_, perforating dust-motes and scattering air molecules. Damn, it was loud! So much louder than it had ever been out at sea.

Carlisle's hands shot up to cover his ears, but Edward was the closest. He stood right beside me; he bore the brunt of it. Because I had spoken directly _into his ear!_

_Oh!_ I gasped, covering my mouth and shuttering the sound as he cringed, falling to the floor. _Oh God, was he alright?!_

I didn't dare move as Carlisle skirted the desk to kneel at Edward's side, in case I caused more damage. But Edward was already rising again when Carlisle reached him.

"Edward?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm alright, I'm alright." He waved him back. "Just surprised." Rising, he looked at me and my startled – horrified – face, and grinned, rubbing his ear. "Ouch!"

A voice boomed from downstairs. "What the Hell was that?!"

"It's alright, Em," Edward called, "calm down everyone, just a little experiment."

"Well that little experiment of yours just made me rip a Louis Vetton!" Alice called, her voice escalating with each word.

Edward cringed. "I'll buy you a new one."

"It was vintage, one of a kind!" she screeched. "There is no NEW ONE!"

"That decibel could have perforated a human's ear-drums!" Rosalie's angry cry combined with hers. "What is wrong with you?"

"Venom," Carlisle's voice quiet said, and he reached up to touch the lobe of Edward's ear. His fingers came away coated in a transparent, sticky substance. "Your ears bled venom. Well, that was some level of sound you reached, Bella."

_I hadn't meant to!_

Oh God, the last thing I had ever wanted to do was hurt Edward! Perhaps there was a way to stop the voice, a surgery to remove my voice-box. Yes! Carlisle could do it!

I was on the verge of miming or clicking my request for Carlisle to do just that when Edward waved away his concern again and, grinning, called to his sister.

"Rose, I'm not quite sure I heard what she said. She should have spoken louder. Maybe we need to try that again?"

I barked out a mermish objection, at a much lower level. Horrified.

"Don't you dare, Edward Cullen," the girls shouted in unison.

And being the cad that he was he just _laughed_. Carlisle gave him what I could only describe as a look of censure, while Jasper called, "Not funny, Edward."

But Edward ignored him. Edging closer, he took my hands, his eyes searching my face. Well, he _looked_ okay.

"It's alright, love," he said. "I am quite fine. See, no damage done."

"Are you sure that you are alright?" Esme said, suddenly in the doorway.

"Yes, Esme, I'm quite fine," he repeated.

"Nonetheless," she continued, "I think you boys should restrict the 'experiments' to a much lower key, hmm…?"

"Alright, mom," he grinned, while she shared a look with Carlisle. He only nodded.

After Edward had settled me down again with soothing words and a few well-placed caresses of his smooth palm to my cheek and hair, my heart beat slowed and I felt calmer.

"Really, love," he soothed, "I think you reacted more than I."

Over by his desk, Carlisle examined an hourglass. "The glass has cracked," he said.

My hands covered my mouth again. Oh no! What had I broken? It was probably something really valuable or sentimental… or both! How much trouble did I cause?

"Don't worry, love," Edward instantly assured, kissing my forehead.

_Click-clack! _I objected.

"No." He shook his head. "No need to apologise. It was an accident."

"Excellent." Carlisle smiled triumphantly. "That was last year's Christmas present from Tanya; ugly thing. Replica baroque and badly done. I didn't have the heart to throw it out, but for the life of me I have been wondering how to be rid of it without causing offense. Well, you have solved a dilemma for me, Bella. As Edward says, do not worry."

I was dubious, to say the least, about continuing after that. But Carlisle and Edward were on a role. So we proceeded with caution. It was wonderful to see Edward so happy, he positively lit up while we talked, becoming animated with our work. _Edward suits a smile_, I mused as I watched he and his father debate speech patterns_. He should smile all of the time_.

Tiredness crept upon me but it was easy to push aside in light of their enjoyment. And really, the task of teaching them my clickish tongue became quite easy once I got the gist of it. With hand-imagery and a few simple concepts appropriately combined I could almost talk like a human again. Well, not exactly like a human, but close enough. And with Carlisle and Edward making efforts to learn and become fluent in my own new language, I felt some of my depression start to drain, like water back into the ocean. Somehow I now felt less isolated.

Dusk gave way to darkness. After my third yawn of the night, Edward moved.

"I think we better wrap this up for now. She's dead on her legs, Carlisle."

I immediately shook my head. This was important and I wanted to see it done. However, my treacherously drooping eyelids, and the fact that I was leaning heavily into Edward's side, gave away my exhaustion.

"I have to agree with Edward, Bella," Carlisle said as he rose from his chair. "You need your sleep. I would say as much even if you were not still recovering from injury." When I opened my mouth to object, he held up his hand. "I very much appreciate your willingness to catalogue this with me but for now, rest. We can continue another day, tomorrow if you like, or any other day of your convenience. Thank you."

It was a dismissal and I knew it.

"No problem," I tried to say around another yawn, which came out as a distorted hiss. I flinched, I was so tired I'd forgotten to monitor myself and had tried to speak English again. Not much progress in that department. At least I hadn't broken glass this time.

Neither of them responded to my slip, choosing to ignore it, for which I was grateful.

Suddenly feeling the weight of the world descend upon me, I allowed my head to fall heavily against Edward's shoulders. He took the hint and leaned around to scoop me up off the examination table and into his arms; from there he carried me from Carlisle's office.

"Goodnight, Bella," Carlisle called as we departed.

I sleepily smiled and waved over Edward's shoulder as we left, hardly able to keep my eyes open long enough to make it out the door.

I stirred somewhat as Edward laid me down in our bed, but only long enough to thread my arms around his neck and urge him to stay there with me. He complied easily, with a quiet laugh, and soon I was snuggled up against him in the sheets, wrapped around him like a clam. My lullaby was the last thing I heard before descending into blessed oblivion.

…

Things got better day by day. There were no more 'incidents' with my speech. They did not ask for a repeat performance. I was eating well. And, although the situation with my legs was troubling, gradually feeling returned. It began in my toes, with cold little pin-pricks, these moved by the day up and up and up. They didn't hurt exactly, but they irritated. All irritation fell by the wayside, however, when I managed to waggle my first toe.

Edward was exultant. He kissed me so deeply and for so long that by the time he let me up for air and rushed off to fetch Carlisle, I was dizzy and breathless and smiling like a fool.

_Just like the old days_, I mused, only just managing to get my heartbeat under control before he brought his father back.

The prognosis was good. Carlisle told me to be patient though. He now strongly believed that the mermaid change had simply inhibited the natural state of my limbs for a time, but now that mobility had returned to my feet he believed that walking was a genuine possibility!

"I must admit, though," he said, "this is all beyond my medical understanding. But then, these days, what isn't? A tail that transforms into limbs is not logical, men that take the form of wolves contradict physics, and beings that move at the speed of light should not be possible."

"And yet they are," Edward added. "By our very existence our family defies nature."

Edward smiled down at me where I sat on the living room sofa. But their mention of the wolves saddened me. I had had no word from Jake, and no one here had said anything about him, or Seth, or Leah. Were they ok? Did they get in trouble after we left? I had no idea what was happening with them. And it worried me constantly.

But, I had to count my blessings where I could find them. I was home, with my family, with Edward, and I was generally happy again. All in all, things were looking up…

That was until the day the fever started.

I awoke one morning to a dry, dusty throat. Nothing new, it had been like that for a few days, and as was the norm I gestured towards the water glass Edward now set on the bedside table. When the water hit my throat it felt like burning knives. I coughed, spluttering.

"Love…?" Edward queried as he rubbed soothing circles into my back.

Once I regained control over the coughing all I could do was shake my head and rub at my throat. His deft hand moved there, gently pressing, it swiftly moved to my forehead.

"You're glands are swollen and you're burning up," he muttered. "It's probably nothing, just a mild infection."

The barely concealed worry in his voice was fooling no one. He got up.

"I'm going to fetch, Carlisle," he said. "He will probably have something to help your throat."

Fifteen minutes later, I was tucked up in too many quilts, with too many hot water bottles, with too many worried vampires fretfully pacing the room in blurs of white as my temperature took a dramatic swoop and a freezing chill took hold. They were making my dizziness worse. Or perhaps I was hallucinating… because most of the blurs looked like Edward when they paused. Could he move so fast that there appeared to be multiple versions of him? Or was I simply slipping further into delirium than I thought?

"I'm at a loss, Edward," Carlisle said as he leant back.

He had been perched on the edge of the bed taking my temperature and monitoring my heart rate using his hands and ears alone – vampires had no need of stethoscopes or thermometers.

Edward froze. "What do you, mean? She's obviously unwell."

"Well, yes," Carlisle nodded, "she has a fever, that's obvious. Her heart rate is accelerating too, but I am averse to prescribe anything as I do not know whether it would do more harm than good. As you know, a standard antibiotic will do nothing if the infection is viral. This sickness may not even be due to an organism. And if the medication is incompatible with her altered physiology… I need to perform further tests before I do more."

"Then do them," Edward said quickly.

Carlisle looked to me. "Bella, would that be alright? May I take a blood sample?"

At least he was asking. Weakly, I nodded.

Later into the night, when the moon was high and Carlisle had been away for some time 'examining' my bloodwork. Edward lay beside me, slowly caressing my arms, and neck, and cheeks, and forehead. At first I thought it was a sign of affection that was mostly due to his worry, but a while later I realised that he was trying to keep my temperature down. In the end little helped, he could not keep all of my skin cool at once as he could not cover it all…

Just as I had that thought, he undid my shirt, pulled off his own, and brought me onto his torso until I matched him length for length and his divinely cool skin lay flush with mine.

_Well, hello to you to, Mr Cullen_, my mind perked up, forgetting its lethargy when faced with this new and rather interesting development. _Why hadn't I contracted a fever before? If I'd have known when I was human that this would be a possibility_…

"_Please_, tell me what's wrong?" he pleaded, the strain evident in his silken voice.

In that moment my selfish side retracted. Edward was teetering on the edge of true fear. After all, he had lost his parents to sickness, and his own human life. No wonder he was so scared. I tried to think through the murkiness, to find something that may help, but it was useless. Wasn't he the one with two medical degrees? To be fair I doubted they covered Mermaidology in a standard medical training curriculum. In the end I simply reclined against him, pressing my cheek to his ice-cold flesh and breathing slowly.

The following day, Edward sat on the edge of the bed, clutching my hand and slowly rubbing circles while he fiddled with the quilts, tucking and re-tucking, clearly at a loss to know what to do. By the door Alice stood, a worried frown on her fair brow as she tapped her chin.

"You know, she hasn't been in the water for a while," she murmured after a time, trailing off suggestively. "Maybe…"

Mara had said I could not survive out of the sea. At first, when nothing significant had happened, I had assumed she'd lied. What if she hadn't? What if she had spoken truthfully? Was that what was happening here? Did I really need to go back to the sea? No, I did not want to.

Worry was starting to show more plainly in Edward's eyes now.

"I thought you gave her a shower when Carlisle, Jasper and I were out?" he said.

For the past week, Alice and Esme had been helping me out with my 'bathroom time', while the boys conspicuously lured Edward out of the house to fetch supplies or for hunts. I think Jasper had sensed how ill at ease I'd been at the prospect of everyone being so close while I was washed.

"I did, kind of," Alice grimaced. "Since we got her back I have been worried about the cuts and bruises, they may have healed now but then there were so many and they all looked so tender, so Esme and I gave her nothing more taxing than sponge baths. The water has never had any obvious effect on her, apart from washing away the grime." Her brow crumpled. "We've been assuming that now her tail is gone she doesn't need to be _submerged_ in water, but she still has gills, maybe…"

"Rosalie, draw a bath," Edward ordered without a second's wait, and swinging me up in his arms, he speeded into the bathroom. My head spun at the sudden speed, already woozy.

When my vision cleared I saw white tiles, and I was shocked to see Rosalie comply without hesitation. Appearing as if from nowhere in his spacious suite, she set about twisting taps and fetching towels and soaps from various cabinets, as with infinite care, Edward set me down on top of the closed toilet-seat. Within seconds the room had started to steam up.

"Alice, lotions and more of that herbal mix," Rosalie instructed, "get a loofah too."

Edward hovered uncertainly in the middle of the room, obviously reluctant to leave.

Rosalie saved him the moral debate.

"You, out," she instructed, pointing to the door as Esme appeared in front of me and began to unbutton my shirt. Oh!

My hands stopped her before she could progress too far. It was silly reaction really, I'd been wearing less when I'd been dragged from the sea, and last night I had lain with my freed chest pressed against Edward's. There had also been that spell of time after I'd left the hospital in Phoenix when Alice had helped me shower with the cast, as well as the more recent sponge-baths. But I knew that this bathing session was a much more public event, with all attention focussed on me. Gah! Attention! I knew, I just knew, that even though the boys were outside and the door was closed, they could still hear very well, and with Edward's telepathy… It's not like a closed door made the slightest bit of difference there. All of the other recent times I had bathed in this house, it had been while only Esme and Alice were present. I was suddenly understandably embarrassed.

Yeah, the baggy sleep-shirt was staying on. The sweat pants could go though. I began to wriggle out of them with effort. Esme immediately moved to help and soon I was de-robed of all but the long white 'concealing' shirt. It was one of Edward's, that covered my upper thighs; still embarrassing, but less so. The remaining fabric provided some level of comfort.

_Silly girl_, a part of my mind protested, _if none of this freaky mermaid stuff had happened you'd have been married to Edward by now. He'd have seen _a lot_ more_.

_Yeah_, another part of my mind perked up, _but not whilst his mother and sisters were in the room! Not with others listening in the house! This situation is completely different!_

As it was, Edward still hovered by the door, looking probably just as uncomfortable as me. With one more, decisive shove, Rosalie pushed him out of the door and shut it.

Now Edward was gone, Esme moved to my shirt, attempting to shimmy it up.

I… _barked_… for lack of a better word. And when she looked to me I shook my head.

She frowned. "You can't want to keep this on, can you?"

I nodded, but a wave of dizziness overtook me and I very nearly toppled over, the heat in my cheeks rising and sweat dappling my brow.

"Bella," she chided as she steadied me with her freezing hands.

I clung to the shirt. No, it was staying.

"Okay," she said, smiling slightly – likely at my ridiculousness.

Keeping a firm hand on my arm, she turned to watch as Rosalie and Alice finished up with the tub. Frothy bubbles now brimmed over the sides and vapour rose in white streaks.

"I think that will be sufficient," Rosalie said, as Alice stepped up to my side.

"May I?" she asked, holding her arms open.

With my current strength level, I could barely lift my arms enough to reach for her, and when she tucked me into her arms I flopped, spent. I did, however, rouse in the next second.

I yelped when Alice tried to lower me into the tub. The sound came out like a high-pitch bark and she froze. I could see the steam rising from the water and that frightened me most. I knew that I was cold-blooded now, like my sisters, and if I were to be lowered into that bath of hot water, well, Alice may as well have dropped me in a lava-spewing volcano.

Shuddering, my hands locked in place behind Alice's neck, securing me to her.

An image of a lobster being placed into a boiling pot came to mind and I silently swore never to eat shellfish again.

"What's wrong?"

Edward was back in the room.

"I don't know," Alice said with a frown.

By the time he had entered, she had seated me back on the toilet lid and wrapped a towel around me… when had that happened?

"She's scared," Jasper's voice carried from somewhere in the other room.

"What of? …_The bath?_" Alice asked in disbelief. Then she turned to me with a gentler tone. "It's just water Bella. It's not even that hot."

_Hot enough… Lobster, pot…_

All I could do was stare at it morosely. We hadn't covered hot and cold concepts in my dialogue with Carlisle yet. Our dictionary was incomplete so our communicative skills were still limited. I leaned forward and quietly tapped the cold-water tap.

"Oh, she wants cold water," Rosalie said in surprise.

"Of course," Edward muttered, "her temperatures altered, she runs much colder than she used to." He spoke at a level human hearing would not have been able to detect. Mermaid hearing was another issue, however. It may not have been as far-reaching or as acute as a vampire's above water, but it was still exponentially better than a human's. Not that he knew that of course. "Carlisle has a theory that she's cold-blooded now," he added.

"Like a fish?" Rose said with surprise, at a normal human level.

"A little subtly, if you please, Rose," Edward sighed.

He obviously thought this revelation would upset me. I didn't mind. It was true.

Alice was already draining the tub.

"Out," Rosalie ordered Edward again, practically kicking him out of the door this time.

A few minutes later another bath was set and ready to go. I looked at it morosely. As much as they were trying, it still wasn't right. It wasn't what I needed.

Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Alice opened her arms for me again. But I was already shaking my head, hair whipping my sweat-sodden cheeks.

Her arms dropped.

"What now?" Rosalie's temper was beginning to flare. She was rapidly losing patience. How to explain…

I looked to Alice, she was the safer option of the two, and I tried to mimic a shaker. Her brow furrowed. She didn't get it.

I sighed, thinking, then tried to mimic eating with a knife and fork.

"You want food…?" she asked in confusion. "We can get some-"

I was already shaking my head. I tried to describe a table, using only my hands. It was trickier than it looked.

"This is like twenty questions," Rose huffed.

I grimaced, because that's exactly what it was.

Both they and Esme started to chime in suggestions. They got 'table', from which I proceeded to 'food', I was trying to follow a logical chain of thought to lead them to the right answer, but they just weren't getting the shaker idea.

Esme stood up. "I'm going to prepare some sardines anyway. Just in case. You two can manage without me, can't you?"

They barely nodded as she flitted past them, both frowning at me in consternation as I continued to mime.

"Shaking… erm, herbs? Like basil?" Alice tried.

Rosalie scoffed, "Why would she want herbs in a bath?"

"Well I did use that herbal stuff to clean her wounds when we got her back. It was supposed to numb the pain too. Is that it? Are you in pain? If you are we need Carlisle to-"

I shook my head forcibly. No pain.

"Perhaps that's pouring," Rosalie tried again. "Do you want more bubble bath?"

I looked at her in blatant exasperation.

_Nooo_

Alice continued on, regardless of Rosalie, "Oregano… Garlic… Rosemary…"

"Salt." Edward was once again in the doorway. "It's salt."

_Yes!_

I pointed to him with wide eyes. Yes! Jackpot!

"Will you _stop_ flitting into the bathroom with us," Rosalie scowled. "How many times do I have to tell you to get out? This is a girl's only space."

He leaned against the door frame with a cocky smile. "Actually, it's _my_ bathroom. And I would leave, but every time I go you need my help. It seems that my exceptional talents are put to better use here with Bella. I'm the only one who seems to understand what she _wants_."

I couldn't help but smile, despite my raging fever and dripping brow.

Rosalie merely crossed her arms. There wasn't much she could say to that because he had a point. Plus, I felt better with him here, more at ease in any case – embarrassed or not.

"She needs salt," he continued, "think about it, what does water in the sea contain…?"

Alice was already gone, returning a second later with an industrial-sized salt package.

"Err, how much?" she asked me.

I assessed the package, guessed a level, and marked it off with my hand. Alice nodded and proceeded to pour out the salt into the water. Rolling her sleeves up, she knelt down and stirred it in thoroughly with her arms.

"Alright," she leaned back, arms dripping, "is that okay now?"

I nodded, and turning, Alice reached for me. A hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Actually, Alice," Edward smoothly interrupted. "Let me."

It was a relief to feel Edward's arms around me again as he lifted me up. Sometimes I was sure that half of the ill feelings I got were because contact with him was not an instantly assessable thing. And, actually, the more we touched, the more I felt like my old self again. As if I were slowly regaining pieces of my mind that, until those moments, I did not know were absent. Edward, without realising it, was slowly piecing me together. Now it was just my new body we had to figure out. But with every second that passed we were getting there too.

Stepping into the tub, while still in his jeans and shirt, he slowly lowered us until he sat with me leaning against his chest. I gradually stretched my legs out full length.

Ah! They were already feeling better. _I_ was already feeling better, cooler.

"The fever is abating," Edward said, low enough that I almost did not hear, "even now I can feel it, Alice. Her body temperature is lowering. It's working."

Something tingled, something itched. I shifted uncomfortably, rubbing my limbs together and sloshing water. The skin of my legs made that strangely shivery sound again, the same sound they had made that night in the woods, like shattering glass and shivering grass.

There was a gasp behind me, and another intake of breath by the door.

It might have been alarming to me too, if it hadn't felt so right. The skin of my legs fused, merged and overlapped, icy blue scales tinted with a golden hue blossomed along their lengths, deftly replacing the ivory white skin, chasing it away. Translucent blue tail-fins unfurled at my feet and sprang up in an extensive ridge that covered the back, travelling down from my spine, the membranes stretching out and opening like a butterfly's wings.

The feeling of utter relief that washed over me was indescribable.

I felt released. Free.

Falling back into Edward's chest I released a deep-chested sigh, completely and utterly content. From behind me I felt a sharp exhale of breath, his chest fell and it wafted past my cheek. The perfume of honey and lilacs caught on my tongue.

Alice giggled somewhere behind us.

"Looks like we got something right," she exulted, sounding beyond relieved.

It took me a moment to realise that the shaking around me was Edwards accompanying laughter. The sound reverberated beautifully through my chest too.

"Thank God," he said fervently as he buried his face in my hair, breathing deep as he delivered little kisses across my scalp and tightened his arms around my torso.

"It looks like we're finally heading down the right path," she added.

A jubilant smile blossomed across my face as I leant my head back against Edward's shoulder to grin up at Alice. I recognised the emotion blooming in the centre of my chest – pure, undeniable happiness. It matched what I saw on their faces too.

There really was no confusion in my mind anymore. Mermaids _did_ possess emotions. Perhaps Mara had lied about that, but perhaps she had not. When one's mind was swamped amongst the masses of the Colony, it was so hard to decipher ones thoughts from all of the rest that it was hard to know what belonged to whom. In that scenario it made it near impossible to feel anything about any issue in particular, because so many people had so many conflicting views that it made all opinions moot. Like a system overload.

But now my mind was free to think as it wished, and although I was still getting used to the silence, and although it was sometimes troubling and I missed my sisters, I had to admit that it was peaceful – as peaceful and luxurious as this bath with Edward was. Hmmm…

It was strange what a few simple home comforts could do for your spirits.

"How are you feeling, love?" he asked, a smile already in his voice, "any better?"

I nodded, needing to do no more.

Rosalie was still hovering on the periphery, as if uncertain what to do with herself. Finally she moved to the other end of the tub and perched on its side, curiously studying my tail as I flicked it up and down mimicking waves in the ocean.

"May I?" she asked, glancing up at me for permission.

I had no idea what she had in mind but I desperately wanted to cling to the threads of friendship she had been dangling in front of me. I nodded easily.

To my shock she carefully leaned down and picked up the end of my tail, examining the forked fin's membrane. With marble smooth fingers, she traced the length of some veins before carefully laying it back in the water. It tickled.

"I've got to admit," she muttered, "it's pretty awesome."

My mouth must have hit the floor.

"What?" she said haughtily, glancing over my shoulders – towards Edward. I guess I wasn't the only one in shock. Rosalie shrugged and looked back at my tail in the water. "If I had a choice between being a mermaid and a vampire, I think I might just choose a mermaid."

After a moment of quiet, Alice giggled again. "Oh I can picture you now," she smirked, gesturing into the air as if she were painting a picture, "brushing your golden locks while sat on a rock in the sea with a clam-shell bra and luring bedazzled sailors to their doom. Very stereotypical, I admit, but I'd _never_ have guessed that you'd voluntarily choose wet hair over dry, Rose."

Rosalie smiled, genuinely smiled, with no trace of a sneer. And it looked lovely on her.

"I'm going to help Esme get something ready for her to eat when she's done in here," she said, rising gracefully. "I'll be in the kitchen."

And with that she glided away. Would wonders never cease? First drawing me a bath, now _dinner_? Where was the cynical, bitter Rosalie I had become so accustomed to? I must admit, I was worried and more than a little curious about the change… but I liked this new Rose.

By the door, Alice giggled. "Carlisle doesn't want to interrupt," she said, "and he won't… but he's simply itching to come and see this for himself. 'The tail up close'," she air-quoted "Rosalie just told him what she saw," Alice added for my benefit.

"Well he can see her later, if Bella is okay with that?" I nodded. Whatever. Let him see the freaky tail. "But for now," Edward added, "let her just relax. This time is for us."

As I reclined, Edward cupped handfuls of wonderfully cool water and let it dribble down my shoulders. It felt unbelievably good, likely more so with him doing it. And even though Alice was still in the room, perched on the counter top by the sink and swinging her legs, she did not intrude on the tranquillity of the moment. In fact, I was so content, and so exhausted from the physical gauntlet my body had been through lately, that I began to drift off again in Edward's embrace while water continually flowed down my skin from his hands. I seemed to be doing not much but sleeping these days…

"I know," Edward said quietly, likely to one of Alice's unspoken thoughts. "We're going to have to think very differently now. No more assumptions, we'll have to expect all possibilities."

She sighed; it seemed exasperated. "I just wish I could _see_ her. I feel so useless."

Edward's hand stroked my damp hair, gently. "You are never useless, Alice."

…

**Just to clear up any confusion: Bella can speak 'mermish' (the clickish mermaid language) easily above and below water. It's only if she tries to speak **_**English**_** above water that it comes out as shrieks. **

**Some guest reviewers have been wondering when updates will arrive – I can tell you if you log in and PM me. Happy Christmas, Guys! :) **


	33. Chapter 33 - Home Comforts

**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you all had a great Christmas! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them.**

...

Chapter 33: Home Comforts – BPOV

The bath and the new assortment of edible foods I was presented with each day did more than just increase my strength, they increased my mood. With each passing day I felt more like my old self… my human self. There were still the definitive differences, of course. The tail, when out, was hard to miss. And my voice still reached a decibel that even vampires had trouble coping with. But we got by. There had been no issue with mermish blood-cravings either, thank God (although, I had not been exposed to any humans yet, and that may have had something to do with it). So, overall life seemed to be getting better.

The depression was definitely lifting – though it was not wholly absent. There was a reason for that, one I did not wish to think on, one that lurked in the darker corners of my mind…

"Bella, take my hand, love."

Edward's gentle voice distracted me from my reverie, and, shaking my head, I looked up. He was crouched before me where I sat, on one of the living-room's white leather armchairs, with his arms out and waiting. Alice hovered close behind, hands twitching – as if she wanted to raise them in readiness but was restraining herself.

"Let me guide you," he continued.

I sighed, staring at my own feet. The feeling had gradually returned but I still couldn't walk. Edward was convinced that it was just a matter of practice. Mind over matter. _After all_, he had said, _you need to exercise the muscles in order for them to be as effective as they once were_. I could see the logic. But they had only been inactive for a few days, before that I had exercised the tail for weeks – surely that counted. Still, both he and Carlisle suggested that I do 'exercise' daily now.

My legs swung down and when my socks hit the carpet, I grimaced. I was going to fall; this was going to be embarrassing.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked, reading my expression correctly.

I gave him the 'you know what's wrong' look.

"I won't let you fall," he promised.

The grimace stretched.

His golden eyes implored. "Don't you trust me?"

I gave him a look, one he could not fail to interpret. Of course I trusted him to catch me. However, I did not trust my own feet not to sabotage his attempt. Somehow, even after regaining their feeling, my legs had become clumsier than ever before. It was strange now, having to deal with the tail in the tub and the legs out of the tub.

After that first bath, for a full hour, my legs had returned to being the numb useless accoutrements they had been for days after my return home. I was bereft. But even as I moped, Edward reminded me that the feeling _had_ come back before. And it did again, and the second time it had only taken a matter of hours. It seemed that the more I got used to the back-and-forth transition, the quicker the feeling returned – even if the balance did not.

"C'mon, Bella," Alice chirped behind him. "I'll see a split second before you fall, and Edward will catch you before you even do. So there will be no humiliation involved at all."

Clearly she had never been me. Humiliation was always involved in my life. And, wait, she said _frequently_ that she could no longer see me… so that was a downright lie!

Alright, I needed to grow up and strap on a pair.

Taking a firm grip on both arms of the chair, I slowly levelled myself up, seeing how much weight my legs could take. They shook… they shook… but held. I stood straight, and slowly, ever so slowly, released one arm.

Okay, I was still upright – _mermaidus eretcus_.

Sliding one foot forward, I tried to take a step. It sort of worked – it was a kind of sliding shuffle, very elegant. And still I was upright.

"That's it, Bella," Edward encouraged, "you're doing it."

I couldn't help the small smile. I felt very much like a toddler taking her first steps. I released the other arm. No safety now. I was adrift… but steady.

My legs shook. Steady… steady…

When I felt safe I took another step toward Edward, who backed up a little in return, arms still out, then another, and another. I was getting the hang of it! Walking really was like riding a bicycle or learning to drive, once it was learned it became habit, ingrained. I-

-I sucked in a breath as I tumbled. The carpet swirled up towards me, but I collapsed against Edward's chest first, and in the next instant he had scooped me up into his arms.

_Damn it, and I had been doing so well!_

I suddenly wanted to hit something, or cry. I wasn't sure which.

But when I looked up, he was beaming. "Five steps, Bella. That's progress."

He was right. It was.

…

Edward was enjoying himself far more than I thought he should. Not just with the 'teaching Bella how to walk again' sessions, but with other aspects of my new dependency as well.

Like today's task: hair-washing.

After taking some time to express my desire to want to wash my hair without going through the unstoppable shape-change I always experienced in the tub, in mermish clicks, Edward came to the easy conclusion that he would do it for me – not Alice or Esme or just _myself_, like I had requested: Purposeful misinterpretation.

I sighed and he gave me the classic raised 'what's wrong' eyebrow – all innocence.

Recently he had been giving me a crash course in sign-language to break through the language barrier. Everyone thought it was best since the 'incident' with my speech, and although I was far from eloquent I was getting better with my words.

"Edward," I chirped as he sat me down on the bathroom counter beside his sink, and I began to clumsily hand-sign. "_You not carer. I wash hair_."

That he thought I wasn't capable, was not just embarrassing but unnerving. I already relied on his for _so much_.

Once he had twisted the taps, he paused, watching the cold water spill down.

"A carer is simply defined as one person who cares for a friend or family member or loved one, for whatever reason," he said reasonably. "So, yes, technically I am your carer, just as much as you are mine."

Cue eye roll.

"_That not my meaning_." Why was he not meeting my eyes?

"It still applies," he muttered. What was he thinking? His voice was becoming rough, his eyes unfathomable; topaz turned to black. Something stirred in their depths, something he otherwise tried to keep hidden. And as his cool fingers gently caressed my cheeks, I realised what it was I was seeing in them. It was fear. "I know that you are capable, love," he continued quietly as the sink filled. "But I like being able to care for you, especially after failing to for so many weeks. Let me do this for you, please."

It was hard to say 'no' after that.

Reaching passed him, I plucked up my favourite strawberry shampoo – briefly wondering when he had stocked his bathroom with it – and silently handed it to him.

His expression registered relief and a little gratitude.

"_You never failed me, Edward_," I signed firmly, watching his shoulders tense. "_You found me in the end_."

I placed a hand to his cheek and he leaned into it, closing his eyes. His skin did not feel so cold these days.

"Not swiftly enough," he muttered, eyes opening. Ignoring that, I continued signing, "_If anything _I_ failed _you."

Those black eyes watched me closely as I frowned. My hands fell into my lap, limp. How many times had I gained freedom from my sisters only to not seek him out? How many times had I been close enough to call to him only to remain silent? How often had I purposely kept away? Those actions were baffling to me know. Had they been my own, or had Mara driven so deep into my mind that she had taken control of my actions as well as my memories? Either idea was unsettling.

Suddenly Edward's finger was un-creasing the dent on my brow. And when I looked up his eyes were no longer dark, but the warm and inviting colour of honey once again.

"C'mon, love," he gently coaxed, and taking a hold of my hips he lifted me down into the chair he propped in front of the now-full sink. "Now lean back."

Once his fingers began to run through my hair, dipping it deeper into the refreshing chill of the water and carefully winding between the strands, my mind cleared of everything else but the feeling of him. And then when he began to massage the shampoo into my scalp… Hmmm… yeah, I didn't think of much else then.

I had to bite my lip to stop any noise escaping. I had a feeling that any sounds I made would have been highly embarrassing in a house full of his auditory-acute family.

And judging by his smirk, he knew exactly what he was doing to me. My cheeks reddened, hardly helping my embarrassment. At that his grin only spread and he applied more shampoo… My eyes fluttered once again. The feeling was bliss. And I suspected he liked it a little too much as well, considering how he rinsed and repeated five separate times.

"_It clean, Edward_," I signed with a smirk on the fifth time.

"I was simply being thorough," he said as he pulled the plug and helped to wrap my hair in a towel and rub it dry. "If I do a good job you're less likely to object to allowing this again. And, I very much hope that you will allow this again."

Oh, he didn't have any worries on that account. I feared I would want this repeated _a lot_.

…

Bath-time was definitely a… more interesting experience these days. It was a lot more fun than it had ever been. Of course, I had only ever really used the shower at Charlie's, and I had _never_ had Edward in the bath with me before. That could have had something to do with it too.

"This tub is restrictive," he complained one day, as we manoeuvred awkwardly around in the squeaky ceramic, "you need space. It's a shame you can't stretch your tail further."

He was right. With my tail included we were packed as tight as fish on a market stall. Not that I minded. Being squashed against Edward was just an added perk.

I clicked and signed an answer as best I could. "_I fine. I happy_."

Translations were still difficult between us but he seemed to understand. He simply sighed, giving no further comment. It was clear he disagreed with me, but besides returning to the sea – which really wasn't an option – there wasn't much that could be done.

We needed this time to ourselves though, to reacquaint, to bond. Our time apart had bruised us both in many invisible ways and we were only now recovering from the damage.

Simply thinking on all that had passed made my mood dip, and I found myself pressing impossibly closer to him, burrowing into the nook of his neck and inhaling his honeyed scent there. My lips found his collarbone too, placing a kiss there.

Later that day, I found myself back in his room, tucked into the massive four-poster, still essentially bed-ridden, while Edward and the others did… _something_ downstairs. It was a conspiracy. Whatever they were doing they were hiding it from me, and I did not appreciate being left out – More than that I did not like surprises, and he knew that.

And outside there were noises: the whir of drills, the hammering of wood, clatters…

I wanted to see what was going on but no one would let me look out of the windows, and it wasn't like I could walk into the next room to check it out from the windows in there.

"You're taking advantage of my lameness, Edward," I quietly complained the next afternoon as this charade continued. "And you know just how much I dislike surprises."

As no one was in the room no one could see me sign, so I was just clicking to myself.

"This will be worth it, love," his voice carried up the floors, "I guarantee it."

Huh, so he had gotten that one. Our Mermish to English Dictionary was still in its preliminary stages and under-developed, but Edward was a fast learner. He must have at least caught the tone, if not all of words.

"If you leave me in the dark on this much longer I will come downstairs to find out myself," I threatened. "I don't care if these legs still don't work properly. I'll try, I mean it."

I didn't think any of that would translate, so I decided that I had to be more direct. Words did not always express intent, but actions did. Throwing back the blankets and swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I carefully placed them on the carpet and listened.

There was a tense pause downstairs. The clatters stopped.

"Please don't do that, love," came Edward's voice. "Not without supervision. You could get hurt."

I didn't say anything. A part of my mind realised that I was being petulant and childish, another part of my mind felt hurt to be left out of the loop and told me that I just didn't care.

So ten minutes later, when I had heard no more, I heaved a sigh and placed my shaky feet firmly on the floor once again. The plush carpet ruffled nicely between my toes and I exulted in the feel of it, glad beyond measure that I could feel with my toes once again, before heaving myself to a standing position.

One… two… three steps later, and I was facing a chagrined Edward stood in his doorway.

"Hello, Edward," I clicked politely, concentrating on my feet.

Four… five… six steps, and he sighed.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked.

"_Outside_," I answered easily, signing with my hands, "_to see what fuss is_."

"Bella," he warned as I hopped past him. Silently I exulted. I was getting better at walking by the day! Perhaps soon I could walk alone, or jog, or run! "And what about the stairs?" he queried, as if this would deter me. "What are you going to do about them?"

"_Take them _very_ carefully_," I reasoned, "_one step at a time_."

And I would need my hands to do that so he better stop distracting me.

Our word-play was still a little stilted and half of the sentences I said he had to reconstruct to guess at their meaning, but that one he seemed to get instantly.

With a suddenness that made me dizzy, I found myself in his arms.

"I'll carry you," was all he said and together we flashed down the stairs.

…

One thing you could say about the Cullen's was that they never did things by halves. As he stepped out onto the back patio, all I could do was gape at the monstrosity displayed before us in blatant astonishment. Fifty feet of reinforced glass; length, width and height… It was a good thing that Edward was holding me; otherwise my legs would have given way.

"_It's a fish-tank_," I eventually signed, my eyes wide. "_It's a _giant_ fish-tank_."

"It's more like a big pool," Edward quietly said, before translating for the rest.

To my right, Emmett chuckled quietly, "And the award for statement of the obvious goes to…"

"_You… built this… for me?_"

My mouth still hung open as I stared and I could feel my heart beginning to race.

"You always have said that you prefer presents of the home-made variety," Edward said lightly, clearly attempting to be as casual as possible. "Esme designed the external structure, accounting for the water's weight and pressure. Jasper made the calculations and ensured durability. I found a supplier for the metal we required. Carlisle and Emmett…"

His voice faded to a background hum as I took in the massive construction. They had done this. They had all banded together and built this.

"…Alice and Rosalie got a little carried away with the decoration," Edward continued, "of course. And Carlisle, Emmett and I did most of the construction. We had some issue with the salinity but after some research and calculations we think…" he trailed off as I turned to him.

My eyes stung but no water fell. My shaky hands signed, "_You all did this, for me?_"

"Oh my dear," Esme fretted, flitting closer, "don't cry. If you don't like it-"

"-_No_," I cut her off quickly. "_It's just so… much. It's fantastic! It's_…" I was at a loss for words – signed or otherwise; none of them seemed to be apt enough. But perhaps I did not need them, my reaction said enough.

Edward grinned, suddenly eager. "Would you like to go for a swim?"

I bit my lips; I didn't just _want _to, I was desperate to.

Not trusting my voice, I settled for a simple but enthusiastic nod, and struggled to get down. Edward carefully set me on my wobbling feet.

"_How do I get up?_" I gestured to the tank's high glass walls.

Edward's hand found the small of my back, carefully beginning to lead, ever mindful of my precarious legs.

"There's a stairway at the other side," he said.

Not wanting to make a fool out of myself when I was still so wobbly, I turned to face Edward once we reached the base of the stairs and held up my arms. His smile was winning and he all too willingly complied, as always. Once we reached the top I grinned.

The tank – which was exactly what it was, Edward's insistences of it being 'just a pool' be damned – was huge, bigger than any I'd ever seen. It was even bigger once I was looking at it from above.

With infinite care, Edward lowered me onto the metal walkway that bordered one side, so I could sit and dip my legs into the water. Luckily I was still wearing one of the satin nightdresses Alice had coaxed me into this last week. I still preferred to sleep in old sweats, but I appreciated the ease with which the night-dress allowed my change to take place. It would have been much harder to de-robe gracefully and subtly with Edward's family so close. The shivering began as soon as my skin touched the salt-water, followed by that strange whisper of shattering glass as scales chased away the skin.

With Edward's hands placed firmly on my waist, I shuffled forward and slipped into the cool water, falling straight out of the satin sheath. As I glanced back up from beneath the water, Edward was still holding it in his hands. And his eyes were a little darker than normal.

"So," Alice began, drawing half of my attention as I began to snoop around, "we tried to calculate the salt to water quantity that would best fit, but in the end Carlisle decided it would just be best to transport water straight from the sea, just in case it included any other vital elements that we may miss out in regular water, like algae or microscopic bacteria that may be essential to your health. Jasper and Emmett had fun running with buckets all day."

"Yes," Rosalie added dryly, "there was a trail of water a mile long through the forest afterwards, and somehow they both managed to drench themselves on each trip – so much for vampire accuracy. Most of the buckets returned less than half full."

"Don't be a pessimist, Rose," Jasper quipped with a wink.

"Yeah," Emmett grinned, throwing an arm about her waist, "and besides, you didn't seem to mind being the judge of the wet t-shirt contest that ensued."

"Indeed," Rose said as she examined her nails.

Their conversation only took up part of my attention as I swam a neat circuit of the tank. It was solid, steel-lined, and they had even filled the base of it with sand. Oh how I had missed skittering through those fine silky grains on the seabed. Someone had added kelp too, and a few shells were scattered in the corners. And then there was the other thing…

A small castle stood in the middle, which I stared at for a long moment. _What on earth?_

"Emmett built that," Edward said, his voice muffled by the water.

When I looked up through waves of floating hair, I saw his grimace.

Outside, all of the Cullens stood watching and waiting, even Emmett shuffled in anticipation. Oh, I was yet to make a response. But I had not seen it all. I needed to explore.

Twisting, I lithely swam in through the open gateway of the castle and out up through one of the two towers. It was well-constructed, clearly not intended just as a joke. Effort had gone into this, as well as everything else in the tank's design.

Turning, I placed my hand to my heart and nodded enthusiastically.

They understood immediately and Esme smiled, copying the gesture.

"I'm so glad you like it, sweetheart. We did wonder about whether the castle would upset you" -she shot a quick scowl at Emmett- "but Emmett _had_ to have his way."

"Are you kidding?" he baulked, "It's was awesome. Every fish tank needs a castle."

"Not a fish tank, Em," Edward quietly growled, though the others laughed.

Propelling around, I shot back up to the tower and propped my arms against the castle wall. There I smiled crookedly as my hair floated around me.

"I'm a mermaid," I said, in plain clear English, "not a goldfish, Emmett."

All laughter stopped.

"You spoke…" Edward watched me carefully. "In _English_," he clarified.

_Ah_… "Yes," I said slowly. "That would be because I'm under the water. Mermaids voice-boxes work much better here. When I'm on land it's kind of like when a human is trying to speak underwater. It's never going to be coherent, just a string of gabbling bubbles."

"You knew this?" Carlisle eventually said, "You knew you could speak underwater?"

"I spent a month living in the sea," I nodded, "so yes."

Edward looked hurt. "You never said-"

"Well, it wouldn't have made much of a difference, would it?" I quickly countered, "It's a pretty impractical talent… unless you planned to submerge the house in water."

Alice's eyes widened and she gasped. "Don't even think about it, Emmett."

A huff deflated his chest, but I wasn't really watching them. Slowly I returned to Edward. His face was anxious, his brow dented with worry. Was that because he thought I had held back information? Or because he was still worried about how I would react to their gift? I never had been the best gift-acceptor. In fact, in the past I had been positively brattish.

"I really do love it," I said, as I hovered inches below the surface. Through the miasmic shimmer of clear crystal his distorted face hovered. "I just want you to know that before I surface and can't speak anymore. This is a great gift you have all given to me. Thank you."

"I'm glad, love," he smiled gently, kneeling on the walkway and reaching out to me.

"And you're right," I grinned. "I really do prefer gifts of the homemade variety."

With a smile I surfaced to wrap my arms about his neck and burrow into his chest. He held me tight in return and didn't even seem to mind the saltwater that saturated his shirt.

...

**Some of you are far too perceptive for your own goods. ;) I keep getting messages saying 'what if this happens?' …in the chapter before it usually does. Haha, love it. Hope you all had great Christmas's. **

**Next up – Jake! **


	34. Chapter 34 - The Fallout of War

**Thanks for all of the reviews! (And the prompts ;)) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 34: The Fallout of War – JPOV

The carcasses lay in rotting piles upon the sand of First Beach. It had taken over a week but now the bodies were starting to drift back to shore; the sea was delivering up the dead.

_They released me from solitary confinement, for this?_

As Jake trudged down the bay, skirting one body after another, he understood that he had only been released from the cell he had been placed in after Bella's escape in order to help 'clean-up' before the more human residents of La Push stumbled upon this grisly scene.

"Hey Jake," Embry called grimly from where he knelt beside a still, pale mermaid with dark hair. "Good to see you again. I heard they let you out."

"There wasn't much point in keeping me caged," Jake sighed. "They know that I could get out any time I wanted to. Those cells are hardly equipped to house a werewolf long term."

_Still, if it made the council feel more 'easy' that they were dispensing justice…_

"And besides, I'm of more use out here. You never know when another vampire is going to pop up."

"Or a mermaid," Embry quietly quipped.

"Or a goblin or a unicorn or a feisty little leprechaun," Jake huffed. "Jeez, what else does the world have hidden?"

"Better not to ask," Embry mumbled. "You think a leprechaun would be much of a challenge?"

Jake shrugged. "They do have a pot of gold to protect."

Embry's weak smile fell as he looked to the girl at his feet. There was a faint greenish sheen to her skin that made it look washed out; eerily translucent. And the smell…

Storm clouds rumbled ominously overhead, and as the pair looked up, Jake felt the first specks of rain. That was all they needed, but at least it would keep the residents inside.

Jake's mood darkened along with the clouds. "Any word on Bella?"

"No." Embry said. "The Cullens have kept quiet since they got her back. But I guess no news is good news in this case, huh?"

His eyes fell to the body once more. The girl was young, no more than a teenager, Jacob would guess. There was a wound, low on her scaly thigh, gaping but now absent of blood. It was made by a bullet no doubt, and likely it was the wound that had killed her.

"I don't like this," Embry said suddenly. "She's so young…"

With a surprising amount of care, he leant forward and lifted a piece of weed from her hair. The gesture made Jake's stomach knot uncomfortably.

"When we battled the newborns we killed some just as young," Jake reasoned.

"This is different." Embry shook his head. "They don't seem like monsters, not like the Cold Ones we've fought, she's flesh and blood and… _far too real_, I guess." He shrugged.

"And yet they killed ours too."

"Everyone can kill." Embry's voice was suddenly thick. "You don't need to be a supernatural monster to do that. And they only retaliated; you know that as well as I do."

"That's not the line the Council are going with," Jake said, frowning now. "Paul told me when he let me out that they are saying the mermaids attacked unprovoked."

"_Unprovoked_," Embry chuckled darkly. "Wonder what they mean by that?"

Jake frowned. "They mean that they attacked first. They mean that we acted defensively, in protection of the tribe, which is what we do…" Jake was surprised by the way Embry was speaking; the vehemence in his voice. He wasn't usually so… _intense_. "Anyway," Jake continued, feeling uncomfortable, "as far as I know no one actually saw what started it all. Everything just erupted."

"So that gives us just cause for what we did?"

"We?" Jake queried. "_We_ weren't the ones to bring weapons to what was just supposed to be a peaceful talk, a possible treaty."

To that Embry said nothing. He only, very gently, touched the girl's wound. _Damn Balthazar and damn his gunmen_. But the mermaids had been just as bad – savages – and they attacked for no reason.

Unless… unless Embry knew something that Jake did not. With him being incarcerated for the last week-plus he'd likely been left out of the loop on a lot of things. What was Embry implying? Had something come up? He clearly wasn't happy about something.

But before he could ask, Embry took a deep breath and said, "Any word from Seth and Leah?"

Jake's head snapped to him. "What, aren't they being let out as well?"

After their return to La Push _sans_ Bella, all three had all been imprisoned separately – once Paul had finished with his angry snapping and Balthazar had raged to Sam about 'keeping his Pack in line' that was. He'd never forget the look on Paul's face as he'd skidded to a halt at the boundary line as Jake, Seth and Leah had phased. Knowledge had passed in an instant, and then Paul was barking profanities in the next. It took a gag-order from Sam to shut him up and restore order. Then he had reprimanded the three – though his thoughts were clear and they showed that his heart wasn't in it. He, like most of the others, just wanted it all to be over. Since then Jake had been bouncing a tennis ball he'd found against a lone wall of his draughty stone cell while awaiting the council's attention. He had been stuck in there for days without word. Only Colin brought him meals, and whenever Jake had questioned him about what was going on, he had said nothing. Tight-lipped little mongrel was snared by Paul's muzzle.

"Don't know," Embry shrugged now. "I get told nothing these days. Sam is too preoccupied with the council and Paul seems to be calling the shots out here without you and Leah to knock him down. Speaking of, _His Majesty's_ running the operation along with that Balthazar guy further up the bay. You are – and I quote – to 'report in' when you show up."

Up the bay, Jake could see Paul trailing after a man in a trench-coat as he gestured here and there sprouting instructions that at this distance Jake could not quite make out. Balthazar.

"Thanks for the heads-up," he mumbled, already feeling his anger stir.

And leaving Embry to wrap the girl in a layer of cloth, he trudged his way up the beach.

As he walked, he strained to keep his temper in check. This guy, this…_maniac_, had led them all into a massacre. Not only that, but when they had finally gotten Bella back, when she was suddenly, _shockingly_, within their reach again, he had tried to have Paul knife her before anyone knew what was what! – while Jake had stood, oblivious, only feet away. _If Billy hadn't interfered at that exact moment_… Jake shuddered, not letting his mind go there. Bella may not have chosen him, she may have ripped out his heart, chosen a stinking leech and been changed beyond recognition – what with the tail and scales and glowing green eyes she looked nothing like the girl who had once handed him tools as he worked on their bikes – but damn it if he didn't still love her. She would always be his best friend, whatever else happened. And he would give his all to protect her. Always. At least the vampire had his back in that – when had the world turned in such a way, so that now a vampire was his only ally in keeping Bella safe from other humans? When Balthazar had turned up, that was when.

Balthazar was stood with Paul now, looking down at another beached body. He said something and Paul nodded. In Paul's hand was that thin slip of a knife; it glinted silver.

_The bastard didn't even have the guts to do it himself_, Jake thought grimly. _When Bella was caught he'd have easily let Paul do his dirty work for him_.

"Sea-born," Balthazar muttered as Jake reached their backs. He toed the scaly corpse.

As it rolled onto its back, sightless eyes starred up at the cloudy sky, the irises already paling to milky white. Paul wrinkled his nose with distaste.

"The ones that have legs, like that one over there," –Balthazar pointed a way down the beach- "were born on land. They were 'turned' from human and they revert to their previous forms when their skin detects soil. The ones that still have tails were born at sea. Sea-born."

"Monsters," Paul spat, "all of them."

"I want another stretcher," Balthazar called over his shoulder. "Gather them all and place them in the morgue for further examination. Let's see what we can salvage from this."

He stood, waiting, while others complied with his orders: shifting, lifting and towing the girl away. _Damn man is _still_ getting others to do his dirty work_. And this was all his fault!

Instead of speaking, Jake purposely stepped on a twig. The snap echoed loudly.

As soon as Balthazar saw Jake, the man's eyes widened and sparked. Fury ignited in their black depths as he stormed forward, only to stop _way_ within Jake's personal space.

Jake barely leant away, his nose crumpling in a warning snarl.

"What the blazes were you thinking, boy?" the man snapped, an impressive growl teetering on his lips for a non-wolf. "That thing you helped to escape could have led us to the rest of her Colony! She was the key to the attacks in the North!"

Anger was turning his ruddy cheeks a darker shade of puce and causing the veins in his nose to bulge. It made him look ugly, his _temper_ made him look ugly.

_And that's all the man really is_, Jake thought, _ugliness, inside and out_.

Right now he was wishing, with every fibre of his being, that he had never met the guy.

"Bella is not an enemy to be interrogated," he snapped right back. "She is a _victim_."

"What?" The man looked genuinely confused. "Who is Bella?"

"That's the name of the girl that was turned into that… _thing_," Paul said as he strode to his uncle's side. "Jake here has been besotted with her ever since she moved to Forks."

"Before _that_ from what his thoughts say," Jared added as he appeared behind them. His nostrils flared at a corpse to their left. "He's been crushing on her since they were kids."

Balthazar huffed, flapping his arms in exasperation. "She's not the same person, boy. You have to get that into your head, or you're going to continue doing things you'll regret."

"I'll never regret sending Bella out of _your_ reach," he hissed.

"He doesn't think so well whenever that girl is involved," Paul sighed to his uncle, as if it were such a sad thing. "Otherwise he wouldn't have taken up with that leech in an effort to find her. Allying with a Cold one, Jake, really? That goes against everything we stand for."

_What the Hell? _"It wouldn't be the first time we've allied with the Cullens," Jake said carefully. "Or have you forgotten about the fight with the newborns?" _Very convenient if he has_. "Besides, it wouldn't matter if we still had Bella here anyway. She couldn't answer your questions even if she _wanted_ to."

They _had_ to remember the way her voice had contorted. That grating screech had been painful; it had made his ears ring long into the night. Paul still had tinnitus the day after. Vaguely, he wondered how Edward was getting on with that.

Had anyone spoken to Charlie for that matter? If Jake had vanished off the radar too, that would spike his attention. What was their cover story?

Balthazar huffed, drawing his attention. "I have ways that would make her speak…"

The implication made Jake's stomach twist in nauseating coils.

He spoke, carefully. "You may do, but that's beside the point. It will not matter if what she says cannot be understood. Did none of you hear what her voice sounded like?"

"My ears are still buzzing," Embry complained, coming to stand behind Jake.

He couldn't help but notice how the battle-lines appeared to be drawing, and how the numbers were weighted against him. Where were Leah and Seth? Where was Sam?

"See," Jake said, "how would any of what she says be useful if we can't understand it?"

"It can be _translated_," Balthazar stressed, as if it were the most obvious thing. "What she says can be catalogued and translated and put to use. Didn't think of that now, did you, boy?"

"Call me boy one more time and I swear-"

"-Calm down, Jake," Paul said, stepping between them, "My uncle is not the enemy."

"I'm not so sure that he isn't."

"It's alright, Paul." Balthazar's hand rested on his shoulder. "Remember what I told you about the _sjó__söngvarar_. They have ways and means to manipulate a man's mind. They can make them believe they are innocent and defenceless creatures. They can make the man believe that he is loved, that he is wanted. And if a boy is weak enough, he is susceptible to their wiles."

Jared snickered. "Jake has always been susceptible to 'Bella's _wiles_'. _Sjó__söngvarar _or not."

"Screw you!"

Vibrations rippled along Jake's arms.

"Jake, calm down," Paul stressed, _annoyingly_ condescending. Since when had he been the werewolf model for self-control?

"You are _not_ my Alpha, Paul," Jake growled, trembling on the brink despite his efforts. "Sam is. And where is he? What does he have to say about this? What about the council?"

Surely, even after everything that had happened, they would never condone torture?

"They want what is best for the tribe, for the people," Balthazar said.

"Whose people?" Jake snorted. "I see enough dead on both sides here, and that is only a result of _your_ plotting. You're men hid guns, knives, bombs! You were itching for a fight. If we had gone with the original plan and just _spoken_ to them instead of fighting, none of this would have happened! We would not be clearing up the dead!"

The trembling was worsening. Vibrations covered his entire frame; likely it was from being deprived the change for so many days. His body was not used to it and needed relief.

_Not now_, he silently commended himself.

"The dead, yes," Balthazar lamented, as if truly saddened. It was a false face. "We need your strength here to help lift and carry the corpses. Paul will put you to work, show you what to do. That is why you are here, to do my bidding."

_What the Hell? Who was _he_ to tell him what to do?_

"You are not my leader," Jake growled, striving for calm. "I answer to Sam alone."

Balthazar turned to face Paul.

"That creature, Bella is it? She has answers." He spoke as if Jake had not. "If we are ever going to get anywhere with this, one thing is clear – we have to get her back."

"Over my dead body," Jake snarled.

No one listened; Balthazar least of all, the jerk. And at that moment only Embry's steadying hand stopped Jake phasing and ripping out the blasted man's throat!

"Gather the others once you're done here, Paul," he commanded calmly. "We have the numbers, and the support. We need to talk to the council and Sam about retrieving the beast."

…

**Strange Scales got Featured Story of the Week on TWCS Library this week. Yay! **


	35. Chapter 35 - Of Tanks

**Thanks for the reviews again! And the fols/favs. The support really helps. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 35: Of Tanks – BPOV 

The tank was okay, but it lacked the rhythmic motion of the sea. I found that out after spending more time in it. I knew that if I mentioned it, the Cullen's would do anything and everything to accommodate my needs, but I just didn't have the heart to disappoint them after all of their excessive efforts.

A day later and Esme had brought fish, _actual living fish_, along with kelp and other seaweeds to stockpile the tank and make it feel more, well, ocean-like… I still didn't know what to think of that. But the thought itself was sweet and it was interesting to watch their colourful scales catch in the light as their shoal flitted about the vast area. They too, seemed to like the castle.

Edward joined me in the tank later that first day and since then I had not swam alone. It was pleasant to have company that did not need to breathe and that it was Edward made it ten-times better. Whenever the fish sensed his presence though, they disappeared very quickly. Alice and Emmett joined us sometimes too, even Rose did once, but she _did_ despise wet hair. Her visit did not last, and Alice accused her of only joining us so that she could show off her new bikini, which… wow! I could never see myself wearing.

"Hmm," she sighed at Alice, flicking her hair back, "well, I was never going to be able to wear it anywhere else while we remain in Fork, was I? I'm simply taking advantage of an opportunity here."

"Take-advantage away!" Emmett wolf-whistled, slapping his thigh and splashing water.

Edward simply rolled his eyes, pulling me into his arms as he sank to the sandy bottom. He was in swim shorts that Alice had bought for him, and that he wore them, and nothing else, was a constant source of my blushing.

I liked to sleep in the tank at night now too, which I think Edward found weird though he never said a word, but still, he insisted on staying with me while I slept, holding me close while the ebb and flow of the water moved around us. Now I had the freedom to stretch my tail again, I couldn't help but baulk at the idea of giving it up, even for a few hours. Legs were good too, but to have my tail unfurled, and to have my fins feel the water's satin caress… It was its own kind of bliss, and in the days I had spent out of the water, I had missed it.

As the sun rose after the second night I had spent sleeping in the tank, I woke to find Edward's arms around my waist. Still there, no blankets between us, just like when I had fallen asleep. I turned on the sandy bottom to find him smiling down at me. Messy bronze locks floated around him, in even worse disarray than in the dry air, and his smile was gentle and sweet. He could stay through the night with me now; never having to move for fear that his cool body would freeze my cold blood. And I could tell that he was enjoying the change.

"You're talking in your sleep again," he said as he nuzzled my shoulder, placing feather-light kisses along it. "It was nice to hear, even if it was underwater."

A trail of tiny bubbles rose from his lips as he spoke.

Groaning, I squeezed my eyes closed. "Oh no, what did I say?"

"Something like 'No, Edward, you can't fight the jellyfish. They'll throw limpets at you.' That was the clearest part. Although, there were other bits…" He was grinning.

"Good Lord." I threw a hand over my face, stirring sand.

"Your imagination must be a riveting place, Miss Swan. It's something I would very much like to see… I wish I could read your dreams." His voice sounded so wistful that in that moment I forgot my embarrassment.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary, I assure you," I mumbled as I lowered my arm.

Edward merely shrugged. "Still, I am glad to have reclaimed that one little window into your mind. I've missed it."

"Really?"

His nuzzled my shoulder once again and this time he began to pepper the skin of my collar-bone with delicious little kisses. "More than you know."

"Hmm," I smiled, loving the tingly sensations he created. But what he said got me wondering. "Don't I talk in my sleep in our bed anymore?"

"Not since you got back," he said, drawing back to look at me with those deep topaz eyes, "except for the odd incoherent click. Even with your tutorage I could not translate them."

I smiled. "Ah, then I think you have just given me the perfect reason to go back into the house to sleep."

The way Edward looked in that moment was hard to describe. He looked both disappointed and relieved. My teasing grin set him back on course and as his answering smile blossomed in return, the dawn sun caught the diamond fragments of his skin and caused then to glisten. That was something _I_ had missed too. And mermaids did love sparkles.

"No matter," he said, far too smugly. "As you well know I am a proficient study, and you have so graciously been teaching me your specie's native tongue. So whether you sleep on land or in the water I will soon be able to decipher all of the little riddles your subconscious leaks." My mouth must have been hanging open like a lobster trap. _Goddamn it!_ "See? You have unwittingly bestowed the key to your mind, Miss Swan. And I fully intend to exploit it."

Before I could complain, he had scooped me up and launched us to the surface.

"Speaking of which," he went on, far too nonchalantly, "I think we should be getting back to work on that dictionary with Carlisle – in the name of research, of course. Plus the sun is up."

Cradling me in his arms he climbed out of the tank and carried me onto the grassy soil, where he sat me down. Before I could even feel the change taking effect, he had passed me a robe to wrap myself in. Once my legs reappeared I wiggled my toes and he helped me to stand. I only wobbled a little, and his hands steadied me. It was getting easier and easier.

I grinned, as did he. "Breakfast time for the mermaid."

…

Despite my preference for the tank, I really did need to keep practising with my legs as well. Walking normally – or as normally as I ever did walk – was still something I wanted to do. I didn't want to fall back on the progress I had made by swimming all day and neglecting my legs. As it was Edward still had to carry me most places, and I didn't want that to continue – however much he claimed that he 'didn't mind'. I wanted to regain this small piece of independence. And so it was later, that I found myself on the back garden's grass, wearing a nice blue sundress Alice had given me, stumbling back and forth between Alice and Edward in front of the massive tank. We planned to swim again afterwards as a reward.

"You know, it's funny how weak your legs are now," Emmett said as he watched me wobble. "I mean, your legs can barely support you for more than a minute sometimes, and yet, when I tried to pick you up at First Beach your tail threw me a good twenty feet."

Alice blinked. "What? When did that happen?"

I stumbled and fell into Edward's arms. He caught me easily but he was watching his brother too, intently, and his eyes were distant and worried – ah, he was reading his thoughts.

"At First Beach during the attack," Emmett continued, "Remember I told you, that guy shot at her from the boat. I jumped in between before he could get another shot off and tried to grab her." He shrugged. "Wrong move apparently, she didn't take it well. My point is: shouldn't her strength be proportional?"

He had an interesting point, but unfortunately no one else seemed to be focussing on it. All were either staring at me or at Emmett.

"You spooked me," I clicked weakly in my own defence. And when even Edward frowned, obviously confused in the translation, I repeated it in sign, before looking away.

The boats had been in flames that night, people were fighting, screaming, running and swimming… All was chaos… one Quileute had had a machete… I had lost my sisters…

I shivered. The memories still disturbed me, and I did not like to think on them.

Emmett barked out a laugh once he understood. "Spooked? Is that what you call it? I call it 'had a freaking meltdown'."

"Emmett," Edward said in warning.

I flinched and raised my hands, forming the symbols of sign. "_I thought you were one of the men from the boat_," I said, "_I panicked_."

"Hey, no worries," Emmett said as Edward rubbed my arm and I hid my face in his neck. "The only reason I brought it up is so I can show you my war wounds."

What? Confused, I looked around to see him pulling up his sleeve.

"Pretty impressive, huh?"

His exposed arm had a strange silvery scar along the bicep that I had not seen before. It looked remarkably similar to Jasper's bites from when he had lived in the South.

I was confused, and clicked, "Did you get into a fight with a vampire, Emmett?"

He watched me carefully. "Err, no," he said, "this is a mermaid's bite."

I gasped, "One of my sisters _bit_ you?"

"No," he said, still maintaining that cautious tone. Beside me I felt Edward silently shake his head. It all clicked into place then.

"Oh!" My hands flew up to cover my mouth. And without my grip on Edward's arm I nearly toppled, but he held me steady. Right then I barely noticed. Me? It was _me_? "Oh. I'm so sorry, Emmett. I didn't mean… I didn't realise… I don't even _remember_!"

Edward rubbed my arm soothingly as my heart began to fly. I was clicking my response too quickly for him to follow and I knew he would not understand it but-

"Whoa," Emmet said, holding up his arms, and _smiling_, "like I said, no worries. I think it's pretty awesome. Jasper ain't got nothing like this."

I couldn't believe what I'd done.

Moreover, I couldn't believe how genuinely _thrilled_ he was about it.

Rosalie would kill me.

The others did not seem at all perturbed by it, and, if anything, their lack of reaction was what helped me to calm down. Though Edward was scowling fiercely in Emmett's direction his brother didn't seem to notice. Jasper came out to inspect his war-wound and beside him Alice poked at it with a delicate finger. Finally, I dropped my hands.

"Did it… did it hurt?" It seemed a silly question to ask. "Does it _still_ hurt?"

My worry must have been tangible but he only shrugged. "Tingled a bit, stung at first. Carlisle reckons you girls have venom that's fairly similar to ours, although it's different…"

One part of my mind was horrified at the prospect of what I had done. The other part was contemplating the implications of this in wonder. _Huh, mermaid teeth can pierce vampire skin. So that mermaid I travelled with to First Beach was right._

"_One sister said that our teeth could pierce vampire skin_…" I signed, trying to form the complicated gestures as I recalled the memory. "_I thought she was making it up_."

"Really?" Jasper queried. "Huh, how did she know that? Did she attack a vampire?"

"_No idea_," I said. "_She implied that she did but I'm not sure how much of what she said was true. The girl was a renowned liar_." Riana had told me once that Fi had claimed to have fought off a giant squid alone. And that she had taught Elvis to sing as a child. Then again, Danica had also told us that vampire skin broke our teeth. So I didn't know who to believe.

"Hmm," Jasper was watching me closely now… like a specimen beneath a magnifying glass. "I really would like to hear more about your mermaid's culture someday; their histories and their knowledge… if you wish to talk of it one day I would be a most grateful audience."

"You and everyone else in this family," Alice muttered.

"Hey," Emmett added, "and now that we're learning your language and that you can speak proper English in the water, we can understand you when you speak extensively!"

The prospect made him beam. Alice and Jasper looked far too eager to hear me talk too… but I wasn't sure that I even wanted to. Was I betraying my sisters if I did? What if they didn't like what they heard? Mermaid culture wasn't all happy swimming under the sea… it was blood and cruelty and carnage. What if they saw me differently once they realised what I was capable of? They were vampires, yes. And they had committed atrocities too. But this was different; sometimes I still looked so human that it was easy to forget that I no longer was… And that was something that Edward loved about me: my human innocence. Did I want to shatter that illusion for him yet? Looking into his honey-gold eyes, I knew instantly that I did not. Not yet.

Thankfully, Edward seemed to read my hesitation and swiftly changed the subject.

"Jasper," he said, "I've been meaning to ask about what your research has turned up on that tribal hunter Jacob and I found. I heard you thinking on him earlier…" As he spoke he lifted me up and took a seat on one of the porch swings, placing me in his lap.

"Ah, yes," Jasper said, as he and Alice took the love-seat opposite. "There was nothing much new but I did find something about a mermaid colony he claimed to have discovered near Chile. If I'm correct, that is where he first learned how to use the lure…"

As they spoke their voices passed over me and I settled into Edward's side as they spoke. Later, when there was a bit of a lull in the conversation and their topic had shifted to something entirely different, I turned to look up at my vampire.

"Thank you," I silently mouthed.

"Anytime," he whispered back. Then his eyes seemed to shift. "I meant to talk to you about something, actually, Bella." He was hesitant, but I gestured for him to go ahead. He could ask anything of me. "That girl, the singer at First Beach, she spoke to the humans there, and, although all any of the rest of us heard was your natural clicking, the man in the boat seemed to understand her perfectly."

I nodded slowly.

Yes, Kiera did do that. _She speaks to him mind to mind_, Lilith had murmured beside me that night_. It is how we ensnare our male prey. You would know as much if you had allowed me to teach you to hunt them_. The memory, and her pointed flashing fangs, made me shiver.

"From what I could gather," Edward continued, suddenly enthused, "she was speaking to his mind. And I thought, well… that perhaps, one day, you will be able to do the same?"

The hope sparking in his eyes was a hard thing to see.

I stared at him sadly and hung my head. Taking a deep breath I raised my hands.

Kiera was skilled, and old, ancient, she had had many years to hone that talent… and I had never been taught. And now that I thought on it I did not want to learn it either. It was a trick designed to ensnare prey, to _persuade_ them to enter the water, and, from what I gathered from my brief time in the colony, it was only ever used when hunting. It was a luxury I was happy to do without. Besides, I seriously doubted I could manage what he suggested without help from another of my kind, and to get that I would need to return to the sea, and leave him.

I looked up for a moment, into his eager topaz eyes. Nope, that wasn't going to happen.

I relayed as much of that as I could in sign and watched as his expression fell, and darkened. At the end of my stunted explanation I paused with trepidation. I wondered… but still I had to ask. "Are you disappointed?" I clicked in Mermish.

"With you?" he asked, his eyes going wide, "never."

Before I knew it I found myself in his arms, cradled against his chest. His tone was so adamant; it left no room for doubt.

"Never believe that I am anything but grateful that I can just hold you. You are the greatest gift the world could ever have given to me. Whether that means you have the most beautiful voice in the world or none at all. I love you, just as you are."

I smiled slightly. "Even with a fish tail?"

He laughed. "Even with a fish tail. I love you, scales and all. It's as simple as that."

And it was.

"But…" he hesitated, and I looked up, "If you ever do change your mind, and wish to try this telepathic projection skill, I would happily try to help you. Being the telepath in the family I likely have the most experience in that area. It would be an interesting aspect of your new form to explore."

"Okay," I clicked. "Maybe someday we can try."

It was only then that I remembered we were halfway through a conversation with Jasper and Alice. I quickly looked over, but they were talking quietly between themselves, lost in their own world. Alice still sat on Jasper's lap, and as I watched, he leaned in to nuzzle her neck and she laughed as she wound her fingers through his hair.

As the sun began to set, we retreated indoors. Alice ventured over to Rosalie at the computers, who was tweaking some kind of fashion design, while Jasper went to watch a chess match between Emmett and Carlisle. Ah, domestic bliss. While they were all occupied, Edward led me into the kitchen for dinner, hand on my arm, careful of my stumbling feet.

Esme was already inside, flitting from fridge to counter as we took some seats.

"So, Bella," she started as she dished up a plate of raw scallops and mussels for me, "I hear your legs are improving. Perhaps you will be up to running again one day."

"As if she could ever run," Edward murmured. "You shouldn't encourage her, Esme."

I smiled. Sometimes he worried about me _too_ much.

"Ignore him," Esme smiled, tapping his head with a wooden spoon as she passed. "If you like I would be more than willing to help you exercise your legs. I recently did a degree in Physiotherapy. I thought that as a doctor's wife it might be prudent to-"

There was a harsh snap.

A chair hit the floor and suddenly both vampires were stood straight.

What?! What was happening? I twisted in my seat and saw that the others in the living room were positioned exactly the same way. All were frozen, all stared at the front yard…

"Edward," Esme's flat voice broke the silence, "who is it?"

Eventually the quiet broke, giving way to his barely restrained growl.

"It's Sam," he grated. "And he's not alone. The wolves are here."

…


	36. Chapter 36 - Confrontation

**Thanks for the wonderful reviews again, as always! :) **

**So… someone wanted the infamous 'Sailor Bold' song to be included. Well, you couldn't have asked at a better time. There just happened to be an opening. Hope I don't disappoint. ;) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. I have also shamelessly and unapologetically plagiarised the lyrics from our beloved pirates of the Caribbean movie. You all know that they aren't mine. ;)**

…

Chapter 36: Confrontation – BPOV

Sam's arrival had the effect of a call to war. Suddenly everything was activity. Voices whipped passed my ears, too fast to understand. Shapes blurred. Edward pressed a kiss to my forehead and told me to stay with Alice before he and several of the others vanished outside, slamming the front door. It took a second of blinking to realise I was not alone, and that apart from Alice, Esme and Rosalie were still in the living room, stood staring through the glass walls. A part of me was a little miffed that all of the females were left inside, while another greater part was plain worried. The fear would have been less profound if they had exited quietly. Why were they so frantic? Had the wolves come planning to attack? Why, why now?

I turned to ask Alice but she shushed me with a finger to her lips and shook her head.

"Not too loud or they will hear," she breathed on a barely-there whisper. "You are still in here for obvious reasons. Esme and Rosalie are the second line of defence – it's always been that way. And I am back here with you because I _cannot see_. Jasper feels better."

Oh, okay then. We sat, we waited… Even with my enhanced hearing I was having trouble making out their voices. I could hear Sam's tone but not what he was saying. I thought I heard Embry. I also heard Edward and Carlisle… but no others. Was Jake there? He was usually so loud. But I couldn't hear him. Eventually, there was a change.

"Alice," Edward's voice called, "could you bring Bella outside for a minute, please?"

I looked to her anxiously, but her angered frown dissolved as she sighed wearily and rubbed a hand across her forehead "Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Alice," I quietly clicked, and raised my hands to sign. "_What's going on?_"

"Sam is here," she said.

_Well, duh, I got that_. I gave her an exasperated look. "_What does he want?_"

There was no response, all she did was carefully lift me in her arms, and once my hands were secured around her neck, she flitted to the front door.

Edward, Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett were all arranged on the porch decking just beyond, their stances tense, poised; unwelcoming. Emmett's arms were crossed over his chest, Jasper's were at his sides – the muscles strained like iron cables. And both of them flanked Carlisle and Edward as they spoke to Sam.

"See for yourself," I heard Edward growl as Alice approached him. At first I thought he was speaking to me, but no, that ire was directed at Sam, who stood, alone, on the front lawn.

Beyond him, the bushes at the forest edge stirred, and I thought I saw a flash of grey fur. Not alone then, like Edward said. But I saw no russet tail. When we were several feet away from Edward, he said. "That's close enough, Alice." And she stopped.

"How can she be a threat, Sam," he went on, his voice low but lethal, "when she cannot even walk?"

Sam, whose eyes were now on me, looked troubled.

I did _look_ benign with my limp legs. It wasn't Edward's fault that appearances could be misleading. Not all threats advertised themselves as such and I could, in fact, be lethal. Admission of that would hardly help Edward's case. But then Sam _had_ seen the darker side of mermaid nature the night at First Beach, just like everyone else. Why was he here anyway?

"I am sorry to trouble you with this," he said, rubbing his forehead as if he were incredibly weary. "At least now I have something to tell the elders when I return. If she cannot walk… this will help Bella's case and assure them that she is indeed no threat."

"She does not require your approval."

"Edward," Carlisle cautioned, though with no strong reprimand.

"I am well aware of that," Sam grated, "but right now I am _trying_ to dissuade the council from making rash arrangements to retrieve what they believe to be a hostile entity."

_Retrieve?!_ I baulked, swallowing hard.

"Let them try," Emmett said, at the same time Carlisle asked, "Why would they wish to have her back? Bella is home now, with her family."

"To question her," Sam said simply. And it was not only Edward that tensed. Around me Alice's arms constricted. She took a tiny step back. "They wish to know all about her," Sam continued, "about her strengths and weaknesses, about the location of her colony…"

_My colony! They wanted to go after my sisters! No!_

My terror must have been tangible as a sudden wave of calm enveloped me and I relaxed a little in Alice's arms – though the fear was not entirely suppressed.

"Bella can no longer speak any tongue you or your elders would understand," Carlisle said. "Even if she were to answer your question, you would not understand those answers."

"I know," Sam said, "however, Balthazar continues to make a strong case. And he believes that he may be able to… translate." He made eye contact with Edward then, and I wondered what he was thinking. It sounded like Balthazar was causing trouble in La Push.

Pushing away the blanket of calm, I barked out my defiance.

Edward glanced back, his eyes dark. "He's not taking you, no one will."

"She can hardly stand up, Sam," Carlisle continued before he could respond. "We've only recently gotten her to eat again, most days she spends in bed or being carried about the house, and she can no longer speak English. _There_ is your assessment. Will it be sufficient to rely to your superiors?"

"Yes." Sam's shoulder slumped. He clearly did not like this duty of messenger boy. "They just wished to assess the threat level. That is all. Balthazar spooked them with some story about land-mermaids turning feral and they wanted to be sure that Bella was not acting… like those others did at First Beach. They want to be sure the population is safe."

Edward snapped, "Bella is _not_ a monster!"

"I know she is not."

"Your thoughts say otherwise."

Sam's eye darkened. "Tensions are high in La Push. I'm sure that you can read that too. It is our duty to make sure that she is not going to be a threat to the people of Forks."

"I am sure," Edward stressed.

"Are you?"

The silence that followed was uneasy, as tense as the old days.

"Even if I were not…" Edward said slowly, "Even if my opinion is bias, as you think… we are a coven of seven mature vampires, who all have experience handling newborns, some more than others… and even if Bella did possess _that kind_ of strength, which, as you can see, she does not, we _would_ be able to handle her. As it is she is monitored at all times…"

"She is never alone," Alice chirped. It sounded more like a warning than a consolation.

"That is good to hear," Sam nodded slowly. "I will pass it along."

"See that you do," Jasper said.

As he backed up to the trees, Carlisle called, "I assume the Treaty is still intact then?"

"It is," he paused. "And it _will_ stay that way as long as I am Alpha."

"And if you are not?"

"Jacob Black is next in line, the direct descendant of Ephraim." Sam's eyes bored into Edward. "You should know his feelings on this matter better than most, mind-reader."

The direct mention of Jake made me tense… Sam spoke as if he wasn't here. So maybe he wasn't. But then, where was he? …I had a bad feeling.

The only reaction Edward gave to Sam's words was a slight nod.

Seeming to take that as his cue, Sam turned to leave, heading for the bushes where the werewolves lurked, but before he reached them he stopped and turned back.

"Please accept my apologies for this intrusion. It was not meant to be an aggressive gesture. He nodded in Carlisle's direction and he nodded back. "If only we could have pin-pointed which mermaid began the attack much of this tension would dissipate, and the heat would be taken off Bella, the council would refocus." Sam sighed, but then very deliberately faced me. "In all of this madness people seem to forget that _you_ are the one suffering most, Bella. You were the one, after all, that we began this venture for. You are an innocent." He sighed again, heavily, and in that one gesture I could see the worry of many days weighing on him, pulling him down. "I am glad you have returned, Bella. Please know that."

After that he turned and vanished into the ferns, leaving me to gape silently at his back.

…

Things were tense after that. All of the Cullens were on guard, twitching at the slightest noise, as if they expected the Pack to come charging from the trees at any moment. The tank was temporarily placed off-limits; they preferred to keep me inside. And construction of the Dictionary was postponed. Eventually the girls lightened up, and Esme and Alice tried to occupy me with fashion magazines and nail-polish – they must have sensed my rising distress. But the boys never let up their vigilant guard, watching through the glass at all times.

"And here was me thinking we were going to have ourselves an old-fashioned battle," Emmett said, mashing a fist into his meaty palm, "Would of liked to knock those wolves down a peg or too, some of them think far too much of themselves – protector of the human race, so superior … they think that they've so much better than us."

"Emmett," Esme said, in a way that implied she didn't like what she was hearing.

"Sam neither sought nor wanted a battle," Carlisle said then, "he just came to see Bella, and to warn us, I think." He looked to Edward, who nodded ever so slightly.

"In Sam's thoughts he warned me about the Council's thinking. The hunter, Balthazar, is trying to turn them to his way of thinking. He wants war. So does Paul. Sam is convincing them otherwise, so are several of the pack."

Everyone fell quiet then, but that one word hung heavily in the air. _War_, they wanted to go to war over me. My stomach twisted, knotting uncomfortably, but my mind thought only one weary thing – _not again_. When would it all end?

"Really, Edward," Alice said eventually, after another half hour had passed. "There is nothing to worry about. My visions are clear for the rest of today and tomorrow. I cannot see any blanks in the near future, except around Bella of course. But even those aren't so blurry now."

"You know as well as I how easily that can change," he said, still gazing out of the westward windows. "All it would take is one decision, one change of mind…"

"I'll be watching, Edward," Alice said quickly. "You know I'll always be watching."

There was silence for a while, and eventually I coughed, catching everyone's attention. The sound was far too loud and it made me blush. But there was something I had been itching to ask ever since Sam's arrival. I had thought that Edward would tell me but he had said nothing and I could not wait any longer. The worry was practically eating me up inside.

"_Where was Jake?_" I signed.

The silence that followed was even more worrying.

"He's fine," Edward eventually said. But he had waited too long to speak. And he'd used that word. _Fine_. He always hated it when I said _I'm fine_.

"Edward," I clicked.

He walked over to me then and kissed my head. "He is, love, I promise. They just placed him in solitary confinement, along with Leah and Seth, after he helped you. It was a kind of punishment. He was recently let out…" he hesitated, and I knew he was editing, "but he returned after some sort of altercation with Paul. I didn't catch all of the details. But everyone is unharmed."

"_But_," I signed quickly, "_they can't lock Jake up! Or Leah, or Seth! He's fifteen!_"

"Different place, different rules," Emmett muttered by the window.

I gaped, but Edward's topaz gaze reclaimed my attention. "It won't be for long, if what I can gather from Sam's thoughts is true. He is already working on his release, as is Billy. Jacob is not friendless, you know that. Plus he's a werewolf; he can take care of himself."

I didn't like it. I didn't like that he and the others had gotten in trouble for me, that they were _still_ in trouble. But it was't like I could do anything myself, so I let the matter drop.

An hour or so later, when neither of us could take the tension any longer, Edward and I retreated to his room. He put Clare de Lune on and it's sweet calming melody filled the room as we lay on the bed. Edward played with strands of my hair, twirling them about my fingers. But even in such a calming place, even there amongst the music and books and extensive collections of strange artefacts he had collected over the decades, I still felt uneasy. And as much as lying in bed with Edward was an appealing prospect it was just too tense to really enjoy relaxing with him today. So inevitably we found ourselves returning to the living room.

"Look, I'm sure of it, it's Bella," Emmett was saying.

By the TV he was fiddling with the DVD and remote, while Jasper waited behind him on the sofa. Were they planning to watch a movie? That might take our minds off of things.

"I don't see how," Jasper replied, "but I'm willing to let you prove me wrong."

What was going on? I wondered at the same time Edward said, "What are you doing, Em?"

We had just reached the base of the stairs and Edward set me down carefully.

Both brothers glanced back. Jasper answered. "Apparently, he filmed the whole battle."

My feet froze, though my conscious mind was slower, not quite taking in the words. Emmett had done what now?

"Emmett… that's…" Esme was at a complete loss for words. But her scrunched-up, pained face said everything. That had been a bad night. And he had _filmed_ it…

"Hey, reserve that judgement right there," Emmett said, waving a finger at her face. "I didn't know what was going to happen, okay. No one did. I just thought it would be a good idea to catch them on film. Don't tell me you wouldn't try to film a U.F.O if you saw one."

"Emmett," Alice interrupted, "they're a little different from E.T."

"I don't know about that, one of um did phone home." He winked my way, oblivious to my rising distress. _They had a film… they had footage… that meant… _

"Anyhow," Emmett continued, turning back to the TV, "I was scanning through this-"

"-probably just to drool over that blonde singer of theirs," Jasper cut in, snickering. He had to dodge a paperweight Emmett flung his way. Esme caught it swiftly and set it down.

"-and I noticed something," he continued on unperturbed.

"What, _besides_ all of the naked ladies?" Jasper snorted, and then stopped, seeming to think better of it. He glanced my way. "Sorry, Bella." His look was fleeting, and if he hadn't been a vampire I'd have said he'd been blushing.

I was. My cheeks were suddenly a very deep shade of crimson and I dropped my head, shuffling my hair forward to cover my face. His remark had triggered my embarrassment and Edward's hand smoothly rubbing circles at the base of my spine did little to appease it.

I hadn't really thought about clothes in the sea. It was the weirdest thing because I hadn't felt naked. Scales had covered most of my, ahem, _compromising_… areas. But now, thinking on it from a land-walkers perspective… the red got another shade brighter.

"Should we really be watching this?" Edward said in a warning tone that clearly translated to: '_turn it off_'. Guess he didn't like people gawking at his 'naked' fiancée.

"Just wait for it…" Emmett clearly wasn't listening to the dangerous note in Edward's voice. Instead he held the remote up as the film speeded on the screen.

Then it paused.

On screen a girl with tresses of damp golden hair clung to the side of a boat, smiling at a sailor. I felt a jolt. It was Kiera. I hadn't seen her in days… The night was dark and behind her only a beacon-light lit up the water. But his camera apparently had night-vision, as everything on the screen was tinged with an eerily green hue.

"Are you the one who calls for us?" Kiera asked meekly in the clickish tongue of our kind, looking up from beneath her dark lashes. "Are you my long lost love?"

She looked so beautiful. From this perspective I could really appreciate it. Without the stress and danger and blood-scent diverting my focus I could see exactly how she appeared to the unsuspecting sailors on which she preyed – a temptress, a sea Goddess…

"Y-yes," the man on the TV stammered, dumbstruck as he stared. "I-I mean, _yes_ I am the one who calls. I, that is to say _we_, wished to talk with you, with all of you."

I knew what was coming. I knew the carnage that would follow. I didn't want to see, I didn't want _them_ to see… In desperation I looked at Edward, seeking and finding his golden eyes. Fear was plain in mine, and I knew he would see it. With a troubled frown he moved.

"_Aaaand_… there!" Emmett stood, pointing to a spot behind Kiera at the same time as Edward headed for the 'stop' button on the player. "Aha! See! There she is." Emmett gestured. "_There's_ our little squirt."

Edward froze halfway, fixated by the screen.

The tension in the room increased tenfold. I think Emmett was the only one who took it lightly, because everyone else seemed to be hovering on a knife's edge. The film played on and the voices on-screen the only sound.

"Why talk when you can sing?" Kiera cooed, and before the boatman could answer, Kiera tilted back her head and began her siren's song, the one that had already lured countless others to their deaths.

_My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold_

_There is nothing can console me, but my Jolly Sailor Bold._

Now, with time and space to focus, I heard the words I could not that night. Kiera's song rang out clearly and articulately in our high resonating speech. I wondered if the Cullens could hear her the way I could too. Did they know enough of my mermaid language now? Could they detect the subtle difference between her rhyming cadence and regular vocals? I didn't think so…

As she sang, her haunting melody caught on the night air and all of the boat's occupants leaned forward, and my sisters emerged from the mist. They stirred the water subtly around the boats, gracefully sliding through the silken waves while scanning the boat's sailors as they passed. Each one caught a different sailor's eye. And there I was: one among their ranks.

_Come all ye' pretty fair maids, wherever ye may be,_

_who love a sailor bold, that ploughs the raging sea._

I'd had my own purpose then, I recalled. I was scanning the vessel for a familiar face… but watching from this perspective was disturbing. I could see the hunter's glint in my eyes. The darkness triggered that iridescent green and they shone like a hunting cat's, a like lion's.

"And look," Emmett said, "we can track her all the way through."

It was only then that I realised that he, Jasper, Edward and I were no longer the only ones watching. The entire Cullen family had converged into the living space. Carlisle sat in an armchair, captivated, while Esme perched on its arm. Alice and Rosalie were already beside their husbands. And Edward stood in front of me, half-way to the player.

Somehow, I seemed to be the furthest away.

Emmett continued, "I bet we could see the part where she saves Seth."

But I knew which part they'd see first, and the reaction wouldn't be pretty.

If I bolted from the room would any of them notice? Would my shaky legs make it that far? Despite my feverish thoughts, I didn't move. My eyes were glued to the screen in dread. As were theirs; they seemed to be as mesmerised as I, reliving the lead up to the battle again.

"Bet we'll even get to see which one started the blood-bath," Emmett added.

_I bet you will_… The macabre thought was unwelcome. Perhaps Edward would still be willing to stop this. I took a step forward, to take his hand, to plead with my eyes, just as he stepped away ahead of me, further from my reach.

"If we can work out which one started the massacre we can offer the Quileute's some other piece of meat," Edward said, settling next to Emmett, "and they'll leave Bella alone."

It felt like a dagger had speared my stomach, or a harpoon.

In front, the treacherous TV continued to play. One sailor in particular caught my eye as I swam, and I paused. It wasn't because I had known him. I had never seen the man before. It was the way that he looked at me, the way his eyes had travelled down my face and lower still – though not much was visible above the water. He stared with undisguised lust, as if he had never seen anything so desirable in the whole course of his life, and he wanted nothing more than to possess it. It was all due to Kiera's 'mental pheromones', I remembered hearing some explanation like that drifting in the hive-mind, but I had paid scant attention to it then. So, in a way, the man was sort-of drunk. I remembered seeing him, he had distracted me, confused me with that look. And in my innocence and as caught up in the moment as I was, I could not immediately place a name to it. Not surprising really, no one had ever looked at quite that way, only Edward… And even he had never quite looked at me like that.

"Hello, sweetheart," the man murmured, drunkenly. "Come closer… It's okay…"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward's fists clench. But my gaze stayed focussed.

On screen I blinked in surprise and smiled. Not coyly, not shyly, but with promise. And I hated myself, seeing this. I didn't dare note anyone else's reaction in the room.

The man had Edward's reddish bronze tint to his hair – that was what drew me. I didn't remember doing that though; smiling so wantonly. I didn't remember when his own beatific smile broke across his face in response. I had been pre-occupied, my gaze locked on the side of his neck, on his carotid where the blood pulsed strongest. And there I was on film, doing it all over again. My gaze was locked on that pulse-point – and it was obvious to all.

No one said a word. And I cringed; watching this now was making me feel sick.

The man was leaning over the boat towards me and I was edging towards him, in much the same manner as most of my sisters. Each had a sailor trapped in her black-widow's gaze.

And I had thought I was so different to them.

I was nothing if not the same.

_My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold_

_There is nothing can console me, but my Jolly Sailor Bold._

My sailor murmured something, too faint for the film to catch, and as I reached his side of the boat he leant forward, further over the water, edging ever closer to his death, all the while with his eyes trained on my lips. His lips pursing…

"Anything," he murmured to my unspoken thoughts, "I will give you anything and everything you want…"

He seemed so obliviously happy, as if nothing could be more important in the world than that moment right then, right there. Did he not sense the danger? Did he not sense the predator? …Why was he so eager to die?

Instinct made me lean away from his approach. But the reasoning had nothing to do with a need for distance; I had a much darker purpose, one I had not acknowledged in that moment. I was leading him into the water. Just as my sisters were doing.

My eyes stung as I watched the callous predator at work. It wasn't me; it _wasn't_. But even now I remembered how his blood sang, thrumming sweetly through his veins. Its scent caught the air, saturating my senses, blinding me to my actions and the cost they would reap.

Nothing mattered, nothing but the sweet smell of his pulsing blood.

Even now, reliving the memory alone was causing venom to pool and my fangs to bud.

The familiar bloodlust was rising… And his tender neck was travelling ever closer.

"We…we wish t-to broker a peace between our kind and yours…" Kiera's man stuttered, shaking his head as if to clear it, "to make a treaty…"

The statement took her off guard. "Indeed?" she asked with a click, eyebrows raised as she tenderly stoked his cheek. He leant into the touch. And as he did, the grizzly man behind him, the one with the wispy white beard, slowly stood. The gun clicked, too subtle to be caught on film, but visible in his hands. On screen the mermaid that was me heard it all too clearly and her head whipped to the sound. The spell of the sailor's blood-scent had broken.

Now, playing the scene back, I saw how I was the only one whose head had turned that way. All of the others had their attentions completely occupied, locked in the blood-haze.

Kiera paused, gazing at her man with true curiosity. She seemed to be considering.

"Well, my lost love. That offer is-"

The man trained the gun directly at Kiera.

The on-screen me saw red, her fury boiling over. Fangs flashed down and her feral screech pierced the air. With startling speed she launched from the water and was on him, directing the gun arm up to the sky. It fired once before they crashed back into the surf.

If I'd have blinked I'd have missed it.

And then all Hell broke loose.

After that the images turned chaotic; it was pandemonium. The mermaids reacted in a frenzy; screeching, snarling… Nothing remained of the serene temptresses they pretended to be after that, it was all white-hot fury fuelled by fear and rage. Through our combined telepathy, they had seen clearly the intended murder of their sister. Everyone and everything was moving too fast to follow, even on film. Everything blurred…

But then that could have been due to the saltwater that was rapidly filling my eyes. Just as I had managed to build my world up again, it had all come crashing back down.

My secret, my silent dread, my one true fear had been realised – They had finally found out who had started the massacre.

Seven pairs of topaz eyes slowly turned to stare at me.

I knew their gazes were locked onto me, their eyes burned holes into my skin, but I couldn't move. My eyes were locked onto the TV screen. I was shivering and frozen at once.

"Bella," Edward's voice choked out – a question or an accusation?

Before I could think I bolted, with a speed that was quicker than human but not as fast as vampire. It didn't matter though, no one moved to stop me as I took the stairs.

No hesitant steps, no stumbling feet… I was past all of that now.

Reaching the third floor I dived over the doorjamb and, slamming the door to Edward's room, threw myself into the sheets and burrowed deep, hiding myself from the world.

Now Edward had seen it. Now Edward would know… I _was_ a monster.

…

**Thanks again for the Fol/Fav/Reviews, I really appreciate them all. :) **


	37. Chapter 37 - Aftermath

**Happy 50,000 views everyone! Thanks for the wonderful reviews and your continuing support – it means so much. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 37: Aftermath – BPOV

It took a very long time before any one disturbed me in his room, or perhaps my perception of time was flawed and it had not been long at all. Either way, when the light knock sounded and the door slowly creaked open, I expected it. What I wasn't sure of was who it would be, and hidden beneath the sheets as I was, I could not see. Of course the gentle sound of his passage gave him away, as well as his mesmerising lilac and honey scent; no one could move or smell like Edward. What was not yet apparent to me was what he would say.

Did he want me to leave, now that he knew what a monster I was? That would be understandable, acceptable even. Even though it would break my heart I would go if asked.

Perhaps I could return to the sea…

"Bella?" he said, and I could divine nothing from his tone, it was expressionless, neither angry nor kind. "Bella, why are you hiding?"

Why ask when he knew I could not even answer properly?

I sighed, curling in on myself as I drew the pillow I clutched closer to my chest and pressed my face into its downy softness.

"Bella," he said again, and this time there was a touch of exasperation in his tone, "would you prefer me to converse with the bed-sheets?"

Reluctantly, I shifted to my knees and carefully peeled back the covers. He stood, halfway between the closed door and the bed, watching me carefully, but I could not find the strength to meet his gaze. There was too much I wasn't sure I could handle seeing there.

"You have nothing to worry about," he continued as I watched his feet. "I told Emmett to destroy the tape and he agreed. The Quileutes, the wolves, they won't ever see it."

_But you have_.

My courage faltered as I met his eyes. It was as if, despite my shielded mind, every thought I had, ever fear and insecurity, was laid bare before him.

"This is what it's been about, hasn't it?" He sounded angry. "The initial depression, the refusing to eat… It wasn't just about having the wrong food – that could have been easily rectified – it was about that." He gestured behind him to the closed door, but I got what he meant – the tape. "Bella, it was _not_ your fault."

My face must have said otherwise, because he shook his head. "No. You were protecting that girl, the singer. I saw the video too. Look at me."

The demand was almost harsh – he _was_ angry. The command in his voice made me look up. Dark eyes bored down into mine – when had he moved so close? – and in them I saw no judgement, only… determination?

"I saw him pull out that gun," Edward continued. "Originally, none of us saw that. We were watching other areas of the bay and we assumed…" He paused, and took a breath. "We didn't see the start of the battle, all we saw was the mermaids launch, seemingly unprovoked, at the men. We thought _they_ instigated the fight – the other mermaids, the '_sjó__söngvarar_'."

That last word gave me pause – the what? – before I could ask he continued on.

"And with your enhanced senses, I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue once they had all realised that the Quileutes had brought weapons… to a supposed peace treaty."

Looking away, I said nothing. The side of the bed indented as he took a seat.

"You did _nothing_ wrong," his gentle voice soothed.

"You saw the film," I hand-signed tentatively and dropped my hands. Unable to look up at him I stared at my fingers as they twisted nervously in the sheets. This was a subject I had never wanted to broach, I had wanted it to be buried and stay buried. And it would have, I would have stringently ignored it for eternity, if not for that tape. I took a deep steadying breath, and raised my hands again. "You saw the way I looked at that man." I recalled the heady scent of his blood vividly, the way it pulsed through the air – as warm and inviting as his smile. Edward stiffened. My breath was a hoarse rasp as I clicked, "_I wanted to kill him_."

He swallowed. "You acted with more restraint than any new-born of my kind would."

No excuse. "_Mara said we're like the vampires of the sea. I didn't believe her at first, I didn't feel all that different, except for the obvious physical alterations. But, when I smelt them, that close, I just… I couldn't help it, I couldn't think, I wanted to get closer. I didn't even know_ why…"

From starting out with a barely audible sigh, my gasps had risen and now I was nearing hysterics. I inhaled quickly, unable to draw in air fast enough. My vision was hazy and I couldn't stop shaking. Speaking was becoming increasingly difficult.

"_Blood never used to smell like that. I didn't know what it was. I didn't know what was happening! I-I_…"

From there my clicks failed to make sense, even to me. Just meaningless gibberish. I began trying to sign, but my hands shook too badly as well. Edward's hand slowly reached over to cover mine and I stopped. It was only then that I really noticed the true force of my shaking; my body was vibrating all over with the sobs I tried to contain.

He took me in his arms then, pulling me into him as the worst of the torrent broke free. His frame grounded me like a conduit, his solid form stabilising the shaking, allowing me to go safely to pieces in his arms while he stroked my hair.

Once the worst of the storm had passed, and my gasps had quieted to lower breaths, he spoke.

"I heard their thoughts," he said, "and even with a hundred years' experience _I_ was having trouble. Not to mention the rest of my family. It was almost as hard as it was when I first met you, my singer. Denying the call to drink their blood was near impossible. And you were in their midst!"

As well as locked into their hive-mind. There was another conversation I had not had…

"Believe me," Edward continued, "I _know_ what you went through." He sighed deeply then. "Jasper had to leave. His mind couldn't handle the assault of the combined blood-lusts of so many. Actually, I was astonished he held himself together as long as he did – long enough to get away. Being around you on a regular basis must have helped him to stop."

The soothing strokes of his hands were lulling me to relax. He could always do that, my Edward, he could always calm and ground me, and most of the time I suspected he didn't even realise that he was doing it. But then the caresses stopped, and my eyes drifted open.

"Hey," he said, his topaz eyes shining, "you realise that you'd have had to endure this as a new-born as well, don't you?" His tone was cautious, perhaps even afraid.

"That's different," I argued with an exasperation click.

"How?" he persisted. Though it was a valid question.

I raised my hands to sign once again. They were stable now and did not falter. "_I'd have been on land, and I'd have had you. But most importantly, I'd have been expecting it_."

He stiffened. "…They didn't give you any warning?"

We had not spoken much of my time in the colony. Edward knew very little about the details of my long-term capture. And I felt that point keenly now.

He didn't know because I had not shared. And Edward would never push. He had been so patient, never expecting anything. But we were partners, equals; I _should_ share it with him. Perhaps now that some time had passed and the hurts had dulled, I could.

"_No_," I signed, and then swiftly corrected. "_Well yes, they did. It's just_…" I sighed. "_It's just that those were not the first humans I met at First Beach. We, the other mermaids and I, used to go and see this fisherman regularly off the coast of Mexico and I never felt the urge to harm him. I thought – stupidly – that I'd acquired some kind of supernatural control or something. Like vampires have additional gifts. It was rather naïve of me really_."

It was, I suddenly realised. How had I been so arrogant in my assumption? How could I have thought that I was so different from my sisters? We were all one in the same.

"_I don't know why I reacted so strongly. I've smelt blood in the sea before, when I saw my sisters kill. It never affected me that way. In fact, I wanted to be sick when I saw the carnage_…"

The memory of that day floated up unbidden in all its gory detail. That was when I had found the phone and rang home. The images of what came before still made my stomach churn. And as I felt his arms stiffen once again around me, I suspected he knew what I was talking about.

"_I never meant to lead you all to that spot. I wasn't thinking clearly when I rang. I just wanted to hear your voice_…"

He took a slow shaky breath. "I've wanted to ask, but I didn't want to upset you…"

I looked up and gave him what I hoped was an encouraging look. He went on.

"I asked you to stay there, Bella. I begged you to wait for me." His eyes burnt like embers of coal and I found it hard to hold them. I had caused him such pain. "Why did you not stay there? Seeing you look so different would have been a shock but I would have understood, _we_ would have understood."

My eyes dropped to my lap. And I recalled the image of Riana coaxing me back into the deep cool waves. _Come sister_, her mind had urged, _return with us_…

"They called me back to the sea," I clicked quietly. "They… can be persuasive."

And Riana's mental compulsion was much weaker than Mara's. I hated to think what would happen if she ever got close to me again. My mental muteness that blocked out Edward did nothing for her ability. I shuddered.

Edward must have realised that I didn't want to talk about it anymore because he went quiet once more and simply held me close. I shifted closer, placing my head against his chest and listening to his silent heart.

Time passed and I calmed, while his arm tightened about my waist every so often. We were quiet for a long moment; the only sound my now steady breaths.

"You didn't try to stop us watching the video," he eventually said.

I hand-signed, "_You would have seen enough anyway. There was no point_."

"You know, I – along with five other members of this family, I might add – have committed much worse atrocities in the past… _intentionally_. You know this."

That was true. He had held nothing back about his and his families' pasts. They had all informed me of the grislier parts of their histories, they had all, in their own ways, attempted to prepare me for my chosen future with them. But somehow, _experiencing_ it was different.

Much more real than any verbal account could be.

My mind clicked as it all fell into place – Edward had been nothing but truthful with me about his past, even his darker time away from Carlisle. I owed him no less. I must be as candid with him as he had been with me if we were ever to move forward from this. To do otherwise would only be cowardly. And Bella Swan was no coward.

Steeling myself, I took a breath and lifted my hands. "_My sisters didn't arrive with the intention of listening to any peace treaty_." I started. "_Did you consider that?_"

"The thought had crossed my mind," he said easily.

"_They didn't want to listen_," I continued.

"I know."

"_They wanted to kill everybody_."

"I know."

I paused. This needed emphasis. "I_ wanted to kill everybody_."

He sighed. "I'm the telepath, remember. I heard what was going through their heads, even if was a bit… static." Hmm, there was something new – did Edward not read mermaid minds as well as others? "Although," he went on, "I'm shocked at myself for failing to notice you on the front-lines, though I never expected them to bring you there… " He trailed away, seeming distracted, before returning to the topic. "My point is that I heard a little of what they were planning. I knew what they were going to do." He took my cheeks in his hands then, turning me to meet his golden gaze. "And you were one amongst them. I would not condemn you for thinking as they did. You'll never get any judgement from me, Miss Swan."

I swallowed hard and when I tried to look away, he let me. So that was it? Could I commit any crime that Edward Cullen would not forgive me for? At least I had not committed murder, yet. And with him by my side, the likelihood of that was low.

And then I frowned, recalling what else he had just said. "You said you heard what they were planning. And yet you didn't tell the Quileute's?"

"Of course I did," he answered quickly, looking stunned at the presumption. "Everyone knew. They still took the risks. Against my advice I might add."

"Even the people on the boats?"

They couldn't have known what was coming; they had been completely oblivious… completely wrapped around the mermaid's fingers.

"Ear pieces," Edward said, to my surprise. "Sam gave them some for communication. As soon as I heard he sent word out. He didn't need to explain where he'd gotten the information from either." Then Edward's gaze narrowed a little. "They knew exactly what was coming and still they stayed, and while I don't think that would have made much of a difference, they refused to heed my warnings. Perhaps, if they had acted differently…" His eyes turned darker. "If they hadn't so blatantly leered," he grated through gritted teeth, his eyes growing distant, "then they might not have had their guts ripped out."

I choked on a gasp.

"Sorry," he said immediately, snapping out of his reverie.

I knew where his mind had gone – to that sailor that had been watching me.

"_I didn't mean it, you know_," I signed shyly, unable to meet his eyes. "_I didn't even really see his face until I saw the film. It was his blood I was listening to, leaning towards_."

My cheeks must have turned beat-red. I could feel the blush heat the air.

"I gathered as much." He smiled his reassurance, though it was strained. "The thoughts of the other girls were much the same at the time, so I can guess at your mind-set…" He coughed, suddenly awkward. "Unfortunately, I was privy to more than just _their_ thoughts," he grimaced. Poor Edward. "And some of the men in the boats had vivid imaginations…"

"Lilith tore out his throat. I saw her," I said lightly, hoping to ease his discomfort.

That sailor had not survived the ensuing massacre.

Edward looked at me oddly and I frowned at myself. Hang on, how was mentioning murder supposed to lighten the atmosphere? How was that supposed to be a comforting thing to say? The man had died! When had I become so callous? When I was turned, most likely.

"I didn't mean that… to sound the way it sounded. I-" I sighed, pressing my thumb and forefinger to the bridge of my nose in a very Edwardesque pose. "It's been a long day."

First the wolves, then the film…

"That it has," Edward said, drawing me close once again and tucking my head beneath his chin. He fell back with me onto the pillows and a burst of air puffed out. I nearly laughed.

"…_So_," I restarted, raising my hands up, "_you heard our plotting, you heard their lack of caution, but you didn't hear that one of them had a gun that he was planning to use?_"

Turning on my side to look over at him, I raised my eyebrows. He frowned.

"I may be a telepath, love, but I am not omnipotent. Sometimes things slip between the cracks, just like with Alice's vision. I can't catch everything and with the wolves' telepathic connection and my family, the humans, and the mermaid's… it was all a little overwhelming, even for me." He turned, facing me, and shrugged. "There was _a lot_ going on at Fist Beach."

"Of course, I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Quiet fell and for a time we just sat, leaning into one another. The silence was not awkward but comfortable. And as it lengthened I felt a weight on my chest begin to lift. So now I knew, really knew, that even if the worst came to pass, even if I became the monster he always dreaded I could be, he would still want me. He would forgive. That was what he was saying, in not so many words, wasn't it? …or was it?

I had to be sure. I had to be blunt.

Taking a breath I raised my hands before us. "_We went to that beach with the express intention of killing everyone we came across. Our leader told us to, not directly but the implication was clear._" I felt him tense – at the leader part? – but he did not interrupt."_We had no thoughts of committing to any peace treaty. The idea was ridiculous and quaint_."

I could feel him shaking his head above me. "You didn't arrive with the express intention of killing everyone; otherwise you'd never have dragged Seth from the water alive."

"_No, _I_ didn't intend to kill anyone, only _they_ did_," I agreed, "_but I _may_ have. Once my sisters started to feed, I may not have been able to stop myself_." I had though, I'd managed to.

"Then in that way we are very similar creatures," Edward said matter-of-factly. "No matter our intentions, vampires cannot stop themselves once they see others of their kind feed. Once the smell hits…" He grimaced. "But now I'm curious. Why are you so bluntly stating…?" Realisation brightened his eyes. "You thought _this_ would scare _me_ away?"

I frowned, looking up at him. "Won't it?"

I was the monster now, after all. This was the very fear I had harboured for all of those months at sea. Riana had reinforced the idea, Mara had nurtured it… _He will not want you_.

Unbelievably, he burst out laughing – Loud, uproarious laughs that caused his entire frame to shake and made him throw his head back. I leaned back, wide-eyed, to watch.

"Please don't laugh at me Edward. This is serious," I clicked, a little unnerved. "It's not like one of my regular human slip-ups where I sprain my ankle – or someone else's. Because of me people are dead. _Lots_ of people are dead."

"No, because of _that man_ lots of people are dead." He quickly sobered, watching me closely. "I know the other mermaids never planned to heed the offer. I know they never planned to sign a treaty. Although, once it was actually mentioned, that blond of yours, did think about it." Kiera. Had she? "I know they planned attack from the offset, but you have to remember one thing – he was the one who pulled that trigger, the situation was beyond your control, there was nothing you could have done to stop what happened."

I wasn't convinced and he saw it. "I'm not letting you take the blame for this onto your own shoulders, Bella. There are just some things that happen in this life that we cannot change. I believe that that situation was one of them."

No… I could not meet his eyes, and the frown on my brow would not straighten out.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, "when we first got you back, and you were failing to eat anything that we offered to you, there was a plan in place… to retrieve the kind of food that may have interested you." My eyes drifted to his. What did he mean…? "I'm not blind, love. I saw what the others did to the humans at First Beach. I saw the aftermath. I heard their _thoughts_. Carlisle was averse, of course, but once I was back from the hunt, if you had worsened, the next thing I offered you would have been… human." There it was. He'd said it. I gaped. But he only smiled a little, sadly. "You're living with vampires, love. And, believe me, we've done worse things when we've needed to. And to save you I'd do anything."

I barely dared to ask. "W-where would…?" My throat was dry, I swallowed.

"The morgue in Forks is small," he said easily, eyes on me, watching, "but there are others in outlying towns. It would not have been hard to find… what you may have needed."

"That makes me feel worse," I gawked. "I'd have forced you to do… _that…_ for me."

"Luckily, you ate sushi." The sigh he released then was deep and slowly, ever so slowly, his marble-smooth hands touched my cheek, stroking the skin as he faced me.

"You are good," he whispered as he pulled me down to gently kiss one cheek, "and kind," he moved to kiss the other, "and acted with the best intentions."

"_The road to Hell is paved with those_," I signed, but he chose to ignore that and cupped my cheeks between his palms, directing my gaze to his unyielding topaz eyes.

"You placed your own life on the line to save Seth – which, by the way, I still haven't forgiven you for. If you're going to be mad at yourself about anything, be mad about that." He smiled gently. "No one could have asked for more. No one could have done more to prevent what happened after." One palm moved to stroke back a lock of hair. "This guilt is needless and I won't have it. If I have to I will call Jasper in here to take it from you…" he trailed off. It was a bad attempt at a joke and we both knew it. Jasper could never just _stop_ me feeling guilty permanently. His gentle smile rose a little, "Cheer up, love."

Despite his words and his reassuring touches, I still wasn't feeling it. Guilt weighed on my heart. He sighed and leant back, sprawling on the bed with arms folded behind his head.

"It looks like I'm going to have to work harder than I thought to make you happy again."

And for a second, just a second, his eyes drifted to my lips.

We hadn't been close since I had returned from the sea, not like that, not like before when we'd been working up to the intimacy that would come with marriage. There had been touches, hugs and caresses, yes, but never anything more. There'd always been others around, the Cullens had shadowed my every move – always fretting, always worrying, just like Edward. And I had been so withdrawn, so out of it with all that had happened. But now things were settling down. Life was returning to normal. And so were we.

A spike of heat warmed my cold blood as his amber eyes took me in where I sat before him. They started low, and then they moved, trekking higher and higher. My breaths shallowed under his scrutiny, and he must have heard, because his pupils rapidly darkened. And when he swallowed his throat bobbed.

Could I feel that kind of thing again? Could I want him as I once had? Or had my time in the sea leeched that out of me?

_Mermaids do not feel_, Mara's words echoed.

Well, I had defied that logic in many ways, and I was definitely feeling something. My blood was tingling with it, like the spark that ignited the fire. I hadn't felt its lack until now – when it was suddenly displayed before of me in all its ruffled bronze-haired and bright-eyed glory. And the top three buttons of his shirt were open, offering a tantalising glimpse of what lay beneath. My fingers practically itched to move forward, to _unwrap_ him.

Oh, yeah, definitely feeling something. But I stayed very still – as if locked in a trance – so did he.

I wondered if he'd do it – if he'd make that first move…

"Oh well," he sighed, and blinking the darkness cleared. "There's still plan B."

In a blur he launched at up me and I suddenly found myself pinned beneath him on the bed covers, gasping. Alright, I liked plan B so far… His hands slid slowly, almost languidly, along my sides, leaving delicious tingling trails in their wake. The fire parked, threatening to take over as his elegant fingers travelled over my hips and along my legs – Mmm. My breathing hitched but I couldn't quite find the embarrassment in me to care as those curious hands continued all the way down to my feet.

I frowned in confusion. Edward was pulling of me socks? What was he…? I choked out a gasp of surprise at the feather-light touch. It tingled. Was he _tickling_ me? He was!

I squeaked as I tried in vain to wriggle away. Yeah, definitely tickling. This was a side of Edward I'd never seen before. He held my feet in his vice-like grip as I kicked, and soon he had me gasping and rolling around, desperately biting my lip in an effort to rein in the laughter bubbling from my throat. After the incident in Carlisle's office I daren't let it out. Who knew what it would sound like? Or what it would do? Still, he mercilessly tickled, moving up to my sides.

"Stop, Edward stop," I tried to gasp, but any severity I tried to imbue in my tone was lost behind my grin – which echoed his own.

Within no time I was breathless but I couldn't stop smiling. Edward may have been over one-hundred years old but sometime, just sometimes, he could be such a teenager.

…

When I finally mustered the courage to head back downstairs and face the rest of the Cullen Clan, I did so with a slow pace and Edward's hand pressed firmly at the base of my back. He had offered to carry me, of course, as I was still a little shaky on my legs. But I was certain that I wanted to walk. I wanted to face them on my own terms, and on my own feet.

When we reached the base of the stairs, Rosalie's voice sounded from the dining room.

"Well, it's not that surprising," she was saying. "Did you all think that Bella was the only one being a good little mermaid while the rest of them pillaged and slaughtered? There were killings attributed to their kind going on all the way along the west coast. I don't think-"

She stopped abruptly when she saw Edward and I stood in the doorway.

"Oh," she said, "you're up."

The other Cullens were arranged all around the room – the family meeting room, I noted – in various tense poses. Carlisle sat at the head of the table, with Esme at his side holding his hand. Jasper leant against the far wall while Alice tapped on a chair. And Emmett watched out of the back window with a frown on his face. Rosalie had been pacing and now stood closest to the door. Now all were frozen, looking our way.

Cue the awkward silence.

Once again I was glad of Edward's subtle touch. His hand on my back kept me grounded. Carlisle stood.

"Bella," he said, "you should know that none of us here make any judgement or, for that matter, assumptions about what we saw on that tape."

I nodded slowly.

"And from what we saw you acted in defence of another – the girl the man pointed the gun at. Am I correct?"

I nodded again. And a gentle smile alighted his face.

"You also pulled Seth from the water, saved his from the others' attacks, yes?"

I nodded once more, my cheeks flushing a little. The way he spoke sounded as though he thought my act had been admirable. It was hardly that, I just didn't want him to get hurt.

"We discussed what to do with the recording and we all feel that it would be best for the tape be destroyed and the Pack not to be informed of its contents. Do you agree, Bella?"

One more nod. That was probably for the best. There was no really useful information on it and the wolves would only be angry if they saw it.

"Then, there is really nothing left to discuss here," he said, moving from the hearth. "I have a shift at the hospital beginning in an hour and I believe Bella is due her dinner."

As they passed, Carlisle bestowed a polite smile and Jasper a nod of acknowledgement. Rosalie said nothing and Esme simply asked if I would like cod or herring.

I was gobsmacked at how much ease they were handling this with. Could they really overlook it so easily? My thoughts must have been written clearly across my face.

"Remember, Bella," Edward whispered in my ear, "we have all seen – and committed – a number of atrocities in our time. This is mild in comparison."

Yes, he had said as much. But _mild?_

"And you should also remember that we were all there at First Beach that night. We saw a lot, probably more than you. That grainy film was just a low resolution repeat."

I looked up, trying to read the truth on his face. He was smiled slightly, attempting to be assuring, but it was tinged with sadness.

Life as a newborn could have been very much like this, I reminded myself, with the family meetings over dead humans and the ensuing cover-ups. Maybe this _was_ light in comparison. Meeting his smile, I only nodded, acknowledging what had gone unsaid.

"Bella?" a tentative voice said. And looking up I found an uneasy-looking Emmett stood before us, shuffling his feet.

"So, I checked out the rest of the film," he said. "I didn't see you much after tackling that guy wielding the gun, except when you grabbed Seth. What gives? Where did you go?"

He was trying to smooth the waters, I realised. As he was the one who had brought up the film footage he seemed to feel responsible. That was silly. My actions were my own.

"_Oh_," I hand-signed, "_I was just mauling other helpless fishermen off-screen_."

Both he and Edward tensed.

"_Too soon?_" Obviously they didn't appreciate the joke as both gave me a condescending look. "_Kidding_…" I held up my hands in surrender, before continuing to sign. "_Mermaid humour_," I clicked a tut_, _"_it's much funnier below the waves_."

That earned brief smiles.

"_Actually_, _I was hanging around on the sea-bed, trying to stay away from the fighting_," I admitted. Although it was probably the best thing to do at the time with all the blood saturating the water, I still felt like a coward. I sighed. "_I hid behind a boulder_."

Emmett merely shrugged. "Shame, a few more action shots and I could a put together a decent monster movie."

I snorted. "_What would you have called it: Creatures of the Black Lagoon?_"

With dawning horror I realised what I had just done: provided him with ammunition.

Emmett grinned evilly. "You said it, not me."

"_That titles already copyrighted_," I added quickly.

"I'm sure I can think of others…"

I was sure he could.

… 

**So… I meant to update earlier, but between my best friends' engagement party (yay! :)) and some awful deadlines time ran away with me. Hope you enjoyed the update. Next one should be quicker. **

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I really appreciate them all. :) **


	38. Chapter 38 - Ridiculam Emmett

**Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 38: Ridiculam Emmett – BPOV

As time went by, I found that more of the Cullens began to take up Mermish as Carlisle, Edward and I worked to compile the dictionary. Alice and Esme I'd kind of expected to, but I hadn't thought that Emmett would bother. Apparently, this whole situation was nothing but funny and in order to mock me properly he wanted to do it in my own language – figures.

"I dunno," he'd clicked one day when Esme came home to find a smashed vase and no one around to blame, "I think it's all rather _fishy _if you ask me."

It didn't do it. I was quite sure it was him.

Then, one evening, when Edward had given me a processed-brine tuna dish instead of a natural sea-brine one, resulting in me being sick and a little miffed, Emmett had chuckled, "You're in hot water now, little brother."

After that I'd sighed and expressed my intention of an early swim and bed. Edward had said he would join me.

"Leave these two alone and they'll be making bubbles," he'd guffawed.

Some of Emmett's jokes didn't even make sense though, at least not to me. He made a few jokes about 'chasing tail' but he only directed those at Edward, who scowled. I frowned, not understanding, and once Edward leaned in and simply said, "There's more to go with that in his thoughts. It's better not to know."

One night Emmett had watched Jaws. "Look, Bella. It's your cousin!"

After that he'd hummed the Jaws' theme whenever I entered a room. "Du-du…du-du…du-dadadada!" Esme had scolded him quietly for that one but it made little difference.

Otherwise Emmett just provoked me with a wide variety of pet names that seemed to have no end: 'Squirt', 'Bubbles', 'Small Fry' and 'Splash' were amongst the most common. Emmett seemed to be scrounging material from any and all sea-creature related media. The one that really grated on my nerves though was '_Ariel_' – I was _not _the little freaking mermaid. She didn't even have fangs, for Christ sake.

"Hey, creature from the black lagoon," Emmett called one afternoon, as Edward and I settled onto the sofa beside his armchair, "you're on TV."

A deep-sea documentary of some kind was on, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the jellyfish he was indicating to on-screen – a big, squishy mass of tentacles.

"Ignore him," Edward mumbled as he handed me my current reading book and settled in beside me with his arm draped casually across my shoulders.

"Wow," Emmett continued as it progressed, "the resemblance is uncanny."

For the most part I pretended not to hear – taking the high ground – but after a while it started to grate. And that night I had had enough.

"S_rrrrrr_cha," I mumbled, not even taking my eyes off the book I held. I turned a page.

They both turned my way; I could _feel_ their gazes.

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked, frowning. "I haven't heard that one before."

"Neither have I."

Edward watched me inquisitively. I didn't look at him, I kept my eyes trained on 'Sense and Sensibility', but I couldn't help the slow smile that spread across my face.

Edward chuckled, actually chuckled. "Whatever it means I don't think it was complimentary, Em."

That only made him grin. "Did Bella just swear? In Mermish?"

I raised the book to cover my reddening face.

A part of me realised that all of this effort Emmett was expending on teasing me was to make up for that ridiculous tape and the upset it had caused, but really, there was a point where it became too much. And I was quite sure that we had reached that point a while ago. In fact, that point was so far behind us now that it was a distant dot on the horizon!

My designated swimming hours – which Carlisle suggested we keep to for at least two hours a day so that my scales could be 'sufficiently saturated' – were another source of entertainment for Emmett, whether they were meant to be or not.

Emmett dubbed it 'Bella bath-time'.

"Is it Bella bath-time yet?" he'd say with a grin and an eyebrow waggle whenever we reached that time of day and Edward scooped me up in his arms to carry upstairs or out to the backyard tank. Edward joined me every time now, insisted, for my benefit, of course. It never helped that Edward was far too eager – that only stoked Emmett's enthusiasm… and his innuendos.

He even went as far as to buy me a toy boat.

And that was not the only area of my new routine that he successfully managed to infiltrate. Without a word he joined Carlisle's cataloguing sessions in his office as we decoded the mermaid language and compiled the dictionary.

"Why are you here?" Edward asked suspiciously as his brother settled into place on my other side on the generous green sofa.

"For my little barnacle of a sister," he said, reaching over to ruffle my hair.

Gah! I tried to dodge but moved to late. Instead I could only scowl from beneath my fluffed-up hair as he grinned.

We were trying an alternate solution to our communication problem and it was going just swimmingly. Sarcasm? Yeah, it was there.

In our usual routine I would click a particular word in my mermaid's tongue, and then I would try to mime it in a way that Carlisle and Edward would understand. It was perhaps not the neatest or most articulate way, but it had worked easily for us. However, this time Carlisle had gifted me with a pad of paper and a pen and asked me to _draw_ some of the words; he and Edward would guess what they were until they got the correct answer.

"So," I had clicked, grimacing, "like charades?"

Immediately I had my doubts with the idea, to say I was a good artist would be a severe over-statement and I could not see it going well.

"This is perhaps the best way to refine our dictionary," Carlisle had explained, "to expand on words like '_fish_' and focus on differences like '_whale_' or '_sting-ray_'.

Seeing my doubt as I looked down at the paper, Edward had rubbed my arm in comfort.

"It couldn't hurt, right?" he'd said.

And so, with two against one, I had reluctantly complied. Of course, what had begun as a study session soon became a game when Emmett crashed the party – claiming we would need his expertise.

When we began the word-play, he joined in with enthusiasm, if not wit.

"Cod," he guessed.

_No_, I shook my head as I continued the sketch. I hadn't even drawn the fins yet.

"_Salmon_," he cut-off Carlisle.

_No_.

"Swordfish," he continued.

_Nooo. Where was the swordfish nose, Emmett?_

I sagged and my face said as much without having to click a response.

"Piranha," Emmett nodded with an exultant grin.

_No! _

Emmett really wasn't helping. It had been better when it was just me and Carlisle, or me and Carlisle and Edward… or me and Carlisle and Edward and _any other member of the Cullen family_.

"Emmett," Edward smirked with amused exasperation, "piranhas don't live in the sea."

Emmett wasn't listening. He was on a roll. "Barracuda, Shark, Whale, Tuna."

I wasn't even adding to the drawing, he was just slinging guesses at me now.

"Coral snake!"

I frowned and re-examined my drawing. It looked nothing like a snake. It was definitely fish-shaped if nothing else.

"Jellyfish!"

Now that was just going too far. We were never going to get anywhere at this rate.

I just sighed and returned to the drawing, adding a long antennae-thing with a glowing orb on the end, hanging from the fish's head, along with an array of jagged teeth.

"Eel, Turtle, Dolphin, Sting-ray, Nemo," Emmett continued.

"Anglerfish," Edward said, half-smirking.

Turning to Edward I nodded demurely, a little miffed that it had taken Emmett so long.

"That was my next guess." Emmett clicked his fingers in the air.

At the rate he was going it was about the only guess left.

"Anglerfish," Carlisle murmured from behind his desk. He sat deep in thought while he made more notes in his journal. He looked up at me quizzically. "Anglerfish are deep-sea predators that lure in smaller fish using the luminescent ends of their esca's – the growths on their heads. They live very far down…"

I nodded.

"And you have seen one personally? Mermaids have a word for them?"

I nodded again, making an elongated high-pitch click. He made a note.

"Wasn't the pressure too much for you to swim that deep?" he queried.

I hadn't really thought about it at the time, I had just been following my sisters. Lilith and Riana had wanted 'to see the lights', as they had put it, which turned out to be all the glowing creatures in the darkest and deepest parts of the deep. We had spent hours and hours swimming directly down into the dark, with only our glowing green eyes and our hive-minds working in tangent to assure each other that we were still there. It was blacker than the blackest black, and yet, none of us had been afraid. It was all a part of our home…

I shook my head, clearing the memory.

"Fascinating," He made another note. "Surely the darkness at that depth would have been impenetrable…" I noticed that Carlisle had a lot of thoughts that tended to trail off.

In answer, I reached over to the light switch next to Emmett's head and flicked it off. The room plunged into darkness, which wasn't surprising since it must have been about midnight. Obviously it would have no effect on the vampires present and as a human it would have blinded me… but now I saw as clearly as if it were day, everything was just tinted grey.

"Ah yes, the iridescent pigment in your corneas," Carlisle made another note.

"Oh yeah, I remember that," Emmett said, staring avidly at my eyes, which were now shimmering an iridescent green. "It's freaky seeing it up close."

_Freaky?_ I frowned._ He glittered in the sunlight! He was one to talk about freaky._

Rather immaturely I stuck my tongue out.

He barked out a laugh, throwing his head back.

"Amazing," another honeyed voice said to my right.

It was to Edward then, that my attention was drawn. He reached out gently to cup my cheeks as his eyes flitted back and forth between mine, analysing and assessing.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with the scrutiny I reached over to flick the light back on.

"It's not freaky, Emmett," he said as I leant back into his side, "I think it's endearing."

The smile he gave me was filled with warmth.

"Endearing?" Emmett snorted. "You think everything about Bella is _endearing_. If she sprouted horns you'd think she was _endearing_." He went as far as to air-quote.

I was in high spirits after a particularly long swim with Edward, and along with Emmett's ridiculousness I was feeling light and bubbly and I couldn't help but giggle at the mental imagery. Knowing my luck, growing horns was probably the next thing on my agenda.

It took a while for me to realise that everyone else in the room was silent and staring.

The sound of my laughter was strangely ethereal. Melodious like a vampire's, like Alice's or Esme's, but with what I could only describe as a bizarre double echo to it – so very different from my regular 'ear-bleeding' voice. And now I was made very aware that no one else in the room had heard it before. I felt Edward stiffen next to me and the burning gazes of three vampire's incredulous eyes against my skin.

I went very quiet as I looked around at them, gradually turning to meet Edward's gaze.

He was smiling as he reached down to caress my face.

"That was very sweet," he said, "do it again."

I raised one eyebrow. I couldn't do it on command, I wasn't a lapdog.

But as we all settled back down, I soon found something else Emmett-related to laugh at, and soon Edward was laughing with me, along with everyone else. Although, I got the feeling that none of them were laughing at any of Emmett's hilarity.

Edward's laugh spouted sheer happiness and relief and I couldn't help but luxuriate in its sound as I snuggled further into his side. It had been a long time coming.

…

"We should do this again," Emmett chuckled as we vacated Carlisle's office at around 1:30 a.m. I was exhausted, yawning widely and unattractively with my arms wrapped around Edward's neck as he carried me to his room.

"No, we should not," Edward chuckled. "I don't think my sides can stand that much laughter again, Em. You and Bella make a diabolical pair."

"Damn right," Emmett said, raising his fist for a gentle fist-bump – which in my sleepy state I missed.

Edward shook his head. "And I'm not at all sure that another session like that would result in any constructive work. Perhaps we should limit your participation to when the family play _charades_."

By that time Edward had deposited me on the side of the bed while he retrieved my pjs and turned down the covers. Emmett looked on despondent as he hovered in the doorway.

"Well," he said, raising a hand, "it was fun while it lasted. G'night, Bella."

As he turned to leave I clicked to him. "Emmett?" He turned back, eyebrows high in query. "_Perhaps you can join us again next time?_" I hand-signed.

"Err, sorry Bella I didn't catch that one. I still don't know most of your sign-language."

Edward translated. "She said, perhaps you can join us again."

"Oh," he began to smile.

As Edward fluffed up the pillows with his back to Emmett I could see the beginnings of a smirk. He shook his head, as if he knew I was inviting disaster. Perhaps he was right, perhaps tiredness was leading to bad decisions. But it was always nice to see Emmett smile.

"_And if you're good_," I added with another yawn, "_I'll even tell you about the time I bit a Great White shark_."

Edward translated with a frown, and both of them stood straight, staring.

"_You_ bit a Great White shark?" Emmett frowned.

Feeling defensive I retorted, "_It bit me first!_"

And with that he was laughing heartily and the tension dissipated.

"So that's where you got the scar from?" Edward's frown deepened as he crouched before me and gently rolled up the edge of my tee to reveal the wide puckered arc beneath. His cool fingers traced its length as he quietly muttered, "From a Great White?"

He sounded so scared that my tiredness suddenly evaporated. What had I been thinking? Of course the idea of a giant fish taking a bite out of me when he wasn't there to protect me would cause him pain. Silly Bella!

"Wow," Emmett said, "and I thought I'd had it bad as a human when I got mauled by a bear! You always have to take it one step further, huh."

As Edward's fingers continue to trace the red-silver mark, I felt as though our world retracted, leaving only me and him, encased in our own little bubble of hushed silence.

And then his eyes met mine – a deep and fathomless gold… that quickly deepened.

"Well I best get going," Emmett said, barely catching my attention, "you two have a good night. I might take you up on that offer tomorrow, Bella."

With a raised hand he departed, flitting down the stairs in a flash and leaving me and Edward alone. He dropped my gaze. Eyes averted, he rose and quietly closed our door. Silently, I rose and grabbed my pyjamas to change in the bathroom. I did not like to leave him to wallow, but sometime with Edward you just had to let him 'do his thing'. To hinder him would only make him brood even more.

When I emerged again: teeth clean, hair brushed and ready for bed, it was to find him already splayed out across our bed, wearing a shirt and boxer-briefs no less. He had taken to doing that lately, although, I had never really appreciated it until now. My mind had been preoccupied with other 'mermaid' things – though now I tried to think, I could not recall what those mermaid things were. The sight of his well-toned chest pressing against the thin fabric of his shirt banished all other thought. I tried not to ogle… I tried.

Smiling, he opened his arms for me.

"Come here, love."

The tiredness of before had abated somewhat after brushing my teeth but as soon as I collapsed into his arms it began to creep back again. So comforting, so pleasantly cool… I became so weary so easily these days. And as he pulled the duvet up to cover me and tucked it in around my shoulders I found that my eyelids were already drooping.

It was then, as I hovered on the periphery of sleep, that a thought came to me. One that made me feel rather stupid… Then I wondered why no one had suggested it in the first place.

Frowning, I threw back the covers and raised myself onto my elbows, reaching over Edward to the night-stand where he had placed my writing pad.

"What it is, love?"

Grabbing it and its pen, I wrote: 'Why couldn't I just write the words for our dictionary instead of draw them? Wouldn't that have been easier?'

I handed the pad to Edward, who stared at it for a moment.

He blinked. "That would have been the better idea, wouldn't it? Why did none of us think of the paper and crayon approach?"

I looked at him in disbelief. Was he serious? He hadn't thought of that? The all-knowing all-knowledgeable Edward Cullen hadn't thought of something _that_ simple. Carlisle hadn't either, for that matter.

"Carlisle did suggest it once we got you back," Edward went on, "but I did not want to press you then, somehow, since that time, the idea was lost…"

The vampire had forgotten? Edward's lips were set and his brow wore a lightly bewildered frown. He looked so cute in his confusion, so cute that I collapsed in quiet giggles, the echoing chimes of which deflected off the walls as I lay on the bed.

When I finally looked over at him, Edward was laughing too. "We maybe supernaturally intelligent beings, love," he said around his chuckles, "but sometimes the most obvious answers evade us."

That statement only inspired another round of laughter. The tinkling chimes of my voice coloured the air of the room like music, and for a moment I found myself becoming lost in the sound… That was until Edward's gentle touch disrupted my thoughts and I fell quiet.

As he cupped my cheek and turned it to him, the smile he wore was beyond beautiful.

"Oh, I do love that laughter," he murmured.

The soft honey of his voice was mesmerising in a way that was entirely his own; not vampiric, not human… just Edward. My Edward.

When he found me looking at him so intently, he went very quiet. And soon his eyes drifted down to my lips. My breathing picked up, changing pace.

Was he going to kiss me? We had not kissed since my return, not really. Yes, there had been the brief pecks to my forehead and cheeks, swift reassurances that were both chaste and loving. But they lacked passion; they lacked all that we had been slowly building up to in anticipation of our wedding night, they lacked what made us _us_.

And now that I was returning somewhat to my former self, now that my ties to the sea were dissolving… I found that I missed his firmer touches, those that were not so careful, those that edged towards abandon. I missed his darkened eyes and cool hands. I missed the way that he was slowly learning to trust himself and explore. I missed the way he had begun to press himself more firmly against me in the night so we could match length for length.

I missed _him_.

As if his thoughts mirrored my own, he suddenly released a wistful breath.

"I can't wait to marry you, Miss Swan."

To that I could only sigh. "I think we're going to have to postpone the wedding. Unless you want to have it in a fish tank or we find a way to undo what has been done to me, the only way I can say 'I do', without clicking or causing ear-drums to bleed, will be at the bottom of that tank."

What a delightful prospect. Alice would have to custom-tailor water-proof wedding wear for us. And then of course there were other issues: the guests that still did not know I was living, Charlie would not be able to walk me down the aisle… Charlie…

Suddenly Edward's head whipped up. "Don't even think about it, Emmett," he hissed.

I heard a faint huff (even though the closed door) somewhere within the house and assumed it was his brother's – was nothing sacred? No, not in the Cullen household.

"_What was that?_" I hand-signed.

"Nothing," he sighed, throwing his head back onto the pillows, "Emmett was going to make a childish comment. That's all." When I continued to stare at him, eyes questioning, he grimaced and added, "I think he's the only one who finds this whole situation to be nothing but hilarious."

A heavy weight rested on Edward, not the physical kind but the mental, and it was all the more wearying for it. Although he constantly tried to hide it in my presence, I knew that this situation, that what I had become and all the issues that it encompassed, worried him to no end. He was always stressed out; he was regularly forgoing hunts, too worried to leave…

I sighed. I didn't like to see him like this. Edward deserved to be happy, he deserved to be carefree and light. Since he had met me he had been none of those things, he had been nothing but stressed. And now, again, with this newest turn-of-events, he was suffering.

Taking a breath, I rested my hands. What I had to say would be better said in words, even inarticulate half-formed ones. I spoke to the wrought-iron bed-canopy.

"Edward, I… I understand if erm… you want to cancel the wedding completely," I finished in a rush, quickly adding, "In light of what's happened, I mean. It's already postponed because of my disappearance… So it would be okay… If you were having second thoughts…" I paused, sighing. I was babbling. "What I'm trying to say is I'd understand."

It was funny. Before now the idea of the wedding had scared me so much that some days I almost, _almost_, wished something _would_ happen to cancel it and that Edward would be content without the big flashy ceremony. But now… my stomach churned at the idea of not having it. But if that was what Edward wanted now I would not begrudge him, I would understand, and I would _not_ show my distress.

_Mermaids have no emotions… yeah, Bella, keep telling yourself that_.

Then again, I had never been a good actress, and right now the treacherous quivering of my lips betrayed me. _Damn human emotions resurfacing at the most inconvenient times_.

"Hey," he said, leaning up on his elbows to cup my cheek again. "I told you before that I don't care what you are."

"_That's supposed to be my line_," I signed with a small smile. "_But this isn't exactly what you signed on for_," I insisted. My fears just wouldn't lay quiet. "_Before now, when we talked about this, we were thinking in terms of human or vampire… We weren't thinking of any other species. We didn't even know that there _could_ be more species…_"

Oh, the simpler times, when it was just humans, vampires or werewolves. Mermaids certainly never crossed my mind.

"I can't even say 'I do'," I mumbled miserably, now speaking in clicks.

The bed shifted and suddenly my view of the canopy above was obscured, blocked as Edward moved to hover over me, both arms braced at either side of my head as he trapped my gaze with his: burning amber, molten gold. There was no way I could look away; there was nowhere I could look to. There was only him.

"Bella," Edward said, in a tone that brokered no argument, "that _doesn't matter_. I have told you time and again. It's you that I want."

"But I'm so different now," I said in a barely audible protest. His eyes were so dark…

He shook his head, slowly. Hanks of bronze hair fell into his eyes. He looked angry. "It's you I want. There will never be another. And I'll take you in any form I can get you."

The muscles in his arms tensed and flexed, an iron-cage, and his golden eyes smouldered down into mine; liquid gold that burnt and chilled me to the bone. I remembered that look, I remembered it from the last time we had visited our meadow so long ago…

"_I love you. I want you. Right now_," he had said then. And I had so nearly given in.

It was hard to concentrate beneath that look. It dazzled and scrambled my brain; my words seemed to flee from his gaze. So when I spoke I was not sure what I was going to say.

"Even if I were a witch?" I murmured. …_what?_

His lips twitched, his eyes sparkling, "Even if you were a witch."

"Even if I sprouted wings?" _Why was I persisting with this?_

"Yes," the smile grew and his tension waned, "even if you sprouted wings, Angel."

"What about horns?"

The smile was grew bigger, and crooked. "I'm sure I could learn to live with them."

"Even if I were a Hob-goblin?"

"Even if you were…" he paused, considering, "Actually, no, I draw the line at Hob-goblin. That's just too bizarre."

He smiled winningly and I laughed. The misery was fast diminishing into nothing.

With a hand pressed lightly to my cheek, he lowered his lips to mine in an almost too delicate caress. It was soft and sweet and far too brief. Before I could work an advantage and drew it out he pulled back, still hovering above – his teasing lips just out of reach.

"Besides," he smirked, "you don't even have to say 'I do' at the altar. You could just nod emphatically. I can work with that."

I looked at him in disbelief. "I could just nod?" I deadpanned.

"Yes," he said, "…_emphatically_."

There was humour in his face but there was also a sincerity that could not be doubted. Edward still very much wanted to make me his wife. And, for the first time, I found myself not only wanting the same thing, but craving it.

"I can manage that," I mumbled, enraptured with his gaze once again – dazzly vampire.

His eager lips descended to meet mine once again, and this time they lingered, pressing down and caressing, stoking a familiar fire within, nurturing its heat.

"For richer, for poorer," he murmured as he moved to my neck and my breaths grew erratic, my heart pounding out a jagged rhythm. "In sickness and in health." His mouth spread an icy trail across to the other side, a line of gasoline awaiting a spark. "On land or at sea, to have and to hold…" They rose ever higher, to once again claim my lips. But once there, they paused, hovering just out of reached. "In whatever form – and there seem to be _many_ – that you may be in, I _want_ you." I whimpered, wanting his kiss, craving ignition. "As long as you will have _me_ I intend to become your husband, Isabella Swan."

I nodded, emphatically, beyond words, and finally, _finally_, his lips met mine. Fire met fuel, and we gave ourselves up to the flames.

… 

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. :) **


	39. Chapter 39 - Unexpected

**Thanks for the wonderful support everyone. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 39: Unexpected – BPOV

Since Edward and I had last spoken about our marriage I had been thinking. I had not been lying when I said I wanted it to. I did, I wanted it… but I also wanted it the way we had originally planned: with my white dress Alice had designed, with Charlie there to walk me down the aisle and Renee to smile from the side-lines, with all of our family and friends present, with me human… That was a lot to ask of any deity. But I did not just want that idyllic scene for me, it was for Edward too. He deserved the wedding he had envisioned.

Of course that meant a few things needed to be sorted out.

My first stop was Carlisle. I had dragged Edward into his office first thing in the morning, as soon as I had woken and dressed, to address the problem at hand – that being my mermadism… if that was even a word. I wanted to see if my change could be reversed.

"There may not be anything I can do, Bella," he had said slowly, exchanging a not-to-subtle glance with his son, "as you know the vampire change cannot be undone."

"_I know_," I signed with my hands, "_I understand. But it is worth investigating, is it not? I mean, the wolves can stop being wolves eventually if they stop shifting_."

That made Carlisle's eyebrows rise. "They can?"

"_Yes, Jake told me once_…" Once when I had been upset because, apparently, I was the only one not aging. He had been trying to convince me to remain human, that I could have a happy full life, with him. But that was like a lifetime ago now…

Edward was watching me closely and I wondered if he knew. Perhaps he had seen Jake's memories of that time. I coughed, clearing my throat – which was completely unnecessary since I was signing – and added, "_It takes patience and practise, but over time they can revert to their normal pre-human selves. As long as they stop shifting…_"

"We already know that that is not an option for you, Bella," Edward quickly jumped in, his worry clear, "the last time you forewent your shift for a length of days you became very ill, remember?"

How could I forget?

"Please do not try that again, love. It's not worth it."

"Edward is right," Carlisle added, "As your doctor I would not recommend that."

"Besides," Edward added, "mermaids are very different beings from werewolves; they're cold-blooded, wolves are warm. What works for them will likely _not_ work for you."

Carlisle nodded. "You should also note that, while the wolves' ability to shift is genetic, yours is not. From what you have told us, your change occurred in much the same way as our own – through a bite and venom injected directly into the blood-stream."

I nodded. It was all true. I waited…

"But," Carlisle continued, "There is no reason not to perform some further studies, perhaps on another blood sample, if you will permit? I have already learnt a great deal from the sample you allowed me to take during your fever, and from the scales Esme collected from you when you first returned to us, but I would need more for further tests."

I nodded quickly. This was what I had hoped for. We could at least _try_ to find a way!

"There may be a great deal I can learn from small amounts of your genetic material. The scale samples I have, have already proved to display some fascinating attributes. You never know what else we could discover that may be of benefit to you. If nothing else, we can arm ourselves with knowledge."

The prospect seemed to delight him, if the gleam in his eye was anything to go by. Carlisle, at heart, would always be a scientist. I smiled in return.

"And I can speak to Leah or Jacob again," Edward said to Carlisle, "there may be more hidden information in their ancient histories now that they know what to look for."

That last comment had led the pair into a long discussion that absorbed them for most of the morning. And after a time I had left them to it, having nothing else to contribute but my blood, and disappeared in search of breakfast and Alice – perhaps we could look into wedding cake designs once again. She had said something about _De Jaeger_ – sea-snail eggs – the day I went missing. I might actually like those now. And my Perrine Bruyere specially-designed dress still hung, hidden away, in Alice's closet – as pristine as the day I last wore it. I wondered if I'd need another dress-fitting. Was I still the same size?

Alice materialised at that precise moment, seemingly out of nowhere, flapping her arms right in front of me like a hummingbird.

"Yes," she gasped, "we can always check – another fitting just to be sure."

"_You saw that one?_" I signed in surprise. She hadn't seen me since I was human!

"I did!" she trilled, "well, to be exact, I saw myself – needles in mouth tutting over some essential changes to the dress' train, but still! Oh, we have so much to organise, even without a solid date! If only you had decided sooner but perhaps I can still get those canapés on order… come on now, come, come!" she clicked her fingers and patted her thigh as if she thought I were a dog that would come to heel.

"Yes, drill sergeant," I clicked.

And she paused… maybe Alice knew more mermish than I had originally thought.

"Ah, so I see you remember that one, huh." She smirked. "Nice to have you back, Bee."

The rest of my day dissolved into place-settings and flower arrangements and planning. My head was buzzing, blurring with images of lace and satin and balloons, but we were happy, and we laughed like we used to. I did have one melancholy moment, while looking at a magazine photograph of 'the perfect wedding' in which the bride hung on the amr of her father as she walked up the aisle. Alice asked what was wrong, and I only needed to say one word: "Charlie". To my surprise, she didn't just grimace and brush it off. She laid a hand on my arm and said that we would 'sort that out soon'. I looked to her, wondering what he meant. How could we sort that out? But she deflected the subject. It was only later, when I had finally convinced Alice that I needed to take a break, that we took time to relax. We headed to the tank – which now served as the official Cullen House's pool – for a refreshing swim. Emmett and Edward were already in it when we arrived, chests bare. I tried not to look and failed miserably. Edward's skin shimmered slightly in the late afternoon sun and it drew my acquisitive eyes – so sparkly… so mine.

"This can be one of our back-up plans," Emmett argued as Alice and I slipped in and I drifted over into Edward's arms, my tail swishing freely. "Think about it, it's pure genius."

"What is he talking about?" I asked in confusion, looking to Edward's face.

All he had for me was an amused sigh _and_ a slow peck to the lips – hmmm.

"If anything goes wrong," Emmett continued heatedly, "if we ever have to go into hiding-"

"-We have plenty of houses to vanish to, Emmett," Edward sighed.

"But this would be so much _better_. We could start a new life – _under the sea_."

Alice and I both snapped to him – so she hadn't seen that one either.

"What do you think, Alice?" he asked, as if she might really go for it.

"I think you've been watching too many Simpson episodes."

I agreed. Squashing my smile, I signed, "_I almost expected him to burst into song_."

Alice grimaced. "Don't give him any ideas."

"Think about it," Emmett went on, regardless, "it's something we've never done before. No other family will have, it'd be a great new experience and Bella would be able to speak in English and swim wherever she wanted. It has potential. They'd be no aggravations…"

"_Just friendly crustaceans_…" I chimed in, trying to make my hands 'lyrical'.

"Bella, please _don't_ encourage him," Edward lamented.

His expression was so pained that I swiftly clicked, "You would not want to live near the sisters, Emmett. They are far from neighbourly."

"And somehow I don't think Rose would endorse your idea," Edward jumped in, taking point. "She's not a fan of wet hair, you know that very well."

"Or wet clothes," Alice chimed in, with narrowed eyes – the idea was clearly an affront to her as well.

"I like the land," I added.

Emmett sighed; he was clearly outnumbered and defeated.

"Nice try, Em," Jasper called from the house, "but I veto the sea-home idea as well. I like dry land far too much."

"Oh, c'mon," Emmett splashed his hands up, "I was counting on you, at least."

"You're forgetting I'm a Texan boy, born and bred. I grew up in desert heat."

"Bah." Sullen he punched the water, sending up a splash-wave that engulfed Alice, Edward and me. I giggled, loving the feel of satiny water, while Edward shook his mop of bronze-tinted hair, spraying droplets, and Alice daintily wrinkled her wet nose with a grimace.

Lounging around the tank was fast becoming a favourite Cullen past-time. And it made me wonder if they had ever bothered to get a place with a pool in the past. I was just about to voice my query when Emmett spoke.

"So, Bella, Edward tells me that you have Carlisle looking for a cure for your… erm…" He gestured up and down my scaly body, eyes resting on the swishing tail. I was full fins today.

I shrugged.

"Would it be so bad if it turns out that there is nothing Carlisle can do?"

"_I suppose not, I do like being like this sometimes_." My hands twisted forming the language symbols. Signing had almost becoming second-nature now. "_The plus side is that Alice can no longer give me pedicures_."

He choked out a guffaw while Alice's eyes thinned dangerously.

"Maybe not," she said, "but your hands are still up for grabs."

Edward took said hands in his own, so smooth yet so firm. I looked into his eyes and, as always, I was lost in molten gold…

"One hand, at least, is mine," he said.

Alice grimaced. "Was that a cheap shot at a marriage joke, Edward?"

My smile blossomed as I silently agreed with Alice. _Chee-seeey_.

Edward grinned and suddenly all three of them snapped to attention, heads pivoting to the house. What… ah, I heard it then with my refined ocean-senses. Out of the front of the house was the sound of a vehicle, a car… and it was coming up our driveway.

"Visitor," Edward hissed, and then I was flying.

Out of the tank, he patted me down with a towel and handed me my dress – eyes averted. Wow, it was kind of embarrassing when I was removed from the water so swiftly. The good thing was that my scales had yet to retract completely and Emmett and Alice had already disappeared, back into the house? As soon as I was descent, and two (albeit scaly) legs had emerged, Edward lifted me and flitted into the living room.

Inside, everyone was as tense and statue-still as only vampires could be.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked, the closest to the front door.

"Human, I don't know him…" he said, eyes glazed, "he's searching for someone… he was directed here… he's uncertain that he has the right place. That's all I'm getting."

"Okay," Carlisle nodded, "stay here with Bella, keep her out of sight."

And with that Carlisle vanished outside. I listened intently, clutching Edward's hand. It couldn't have been Charlie, he would have said… wouldn't he? He wouldn't hide that from me. Not my own father. He had said he didn't know him… I strained, catching every detail I could: Tyres on the road; the cutting of an engine; the crunch of gravel.

"Hello, erm, hi, I've been searching for a friend of mine," a man's voice called. There was a slam of a car door, the quiver of rust-flakes. "Perhaps you can help me. She's a young girl, about 17-18, been missing… a while. My search has recently led me to the Quileute reservation and they directed me here, said you might be able to help…?"

Carlisle responded, his voice polite and congenial. "I don't know how much help we can be but we'll do what we can. What does the girl look like?"

"I have a picture, one I drew myself." There was shuffling – the crackly rasp of paper on fabric. "Admittedly it's not the best likeness but I have no photos."

There was something about that voice, something familiar in its lilt and cadence…

"Her friends seem to believe she is in some sort of danger," the voice continued, gruff and weathered. "Any help you could give in finding-"

As I peeked through the windows, I gasped. "Gio!"

… 

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. :) **

**Announcement: Would anyone like a shot at naming a mermaid? There are a couple of nameless ones that have already been written into the story arc and their names are up for grabs! I thought it'd be fun to ask, so if you would like to suggest some names (please be sensible ;)), then PM me with your suggestion and I'll put them all into a hat (literally) and select 2. If no one is bothered I will just name them myself, so no worries. Have a good week! Nemma :) **


	40. Chapter 40 - Old Friend

**Wow! Didn't know that I would get so many names! And you guys have given me a great selection, many I've never heard of. I really did do the hat thing (it was the only way to be fair), and got one name for the chapter ahead, so keep an eye out for it. Don't worry if your suggestion doesn't appear, I'm making room for more names later on – I had to after the beautiful choices you gave me ;). Thanks again, you guys are awesome! Nemma :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 40: Old Friends – BPOV

The front door slammed as I dashed outside and down the front steps, bypassing a surprised Carlisle to face the fisherman before his truck. The rusty contraption reminded me of my old Chevy; except for the back-bay, which was filled with netting and rods and tangled weeds. It smelt of brine and the sea and memories and home and Giovanni! My friend, the mermaid's trader who had given me a fork and looked after Riana and rang Carlisle for us for help!

He blinked. Recognition sparked.

"Xoco!" he gasped, taking in my new be-legged form, "Oh, thank goodness! I've been so worried. Ever since Little-Weed came to tell me what happened I have been searching."

He looked as if he wished to hug me but held himself back. I smiled up at him. The mariner looked much the same without his boat: sun-tanned skin, stubbly chin, salt-and-pepper hair… and he still wore that old navy beanie decorated with feathered fish-hooks.

"Bella," Carlisle said, "you know this man?"

The trepidation in his voice was misplaced. This was a joyous turn of events! He placed his hand on my shoulder too, _hard_… as if in restraint. Why? I couldn't understand. Why was he looking at me that way? As if he worried that I might… Oh! Human smell! My eyes widened as I understood. Carlisle had seen the mermaids react to humans at First Beach. And Gio was here: a living, breathing human. And he was so… _unappealing_. Yark! He smelt of sweat. My nose wrinkled. Carlisle watched a moment longer, and then nodded, almost imperceptibly. All of this passed in less than a few seconds, and Gio did not notice a thing.

"Yes," I clicked, feeling more certain, then eagerly reverted to hand-signing. "_This is Giovanni. He's a fisherman who trades with the mermaids in the South Seas_."

"Slow down, slow down." He held up his hands. "You aren't making any sense, dear."

"Wait, you understand her?" Giovanni gaped.

"In a manner of speaking…" Carlisle trailed away, frowning at me hard. _Oh_, _I was being a little too blatant. In my enthusiasm I had forgotten to be careful. _No one in Forks beside the Cullens and the wolves even knew I was here… and of course, he had no idea who Giovanni was, or if he could be trusted. _But this was Gio! He already knew what I was!_

Carlisle turned to him. "My daughter here is mute. She communicates through sign language, using her hands."

"Oh," Giovanni said, realisation alighting in his eyes, "…your daughter…"

"Forgive my memory," Carlisle continued, "but who did you say you were again?"

There was nothing wrong with Carlisle's memory. That was just a subtle-reminder. In our mutual surprise Giovanni and I had forgotten the prerequisite pleasantries.

"Oh, sorry, yes." He held out his hand. "My name is Giovanni."

"Hello." They shook hands and Giovanni only flinched a little at the chill. "So, it seems you know my daughter?"

"In a manner of speaking," he said, parroting Carlisle.

"Well, it looks like we have a lot to talk about. Perhaps it would be best if we continued this inside. Would you like to come in?"

"Oh, I… err… yes, thank you," he nodded. "That is very kind of you."

Only then, as Carlisle led the fisherman into to the house, did I realise that Edward had trailed out behind me. He was frowning hard, his eyes distant. I touched his wrist.

"_Can you hear his thoughts?_" I signed, wondering at his expression.

"Yes," he murmured.

"_Then why the frown?_"

Edward opened his mouth, then closed it. "He… he has some very interesting memories of you… You were on his boat… with another?"

"_Yes_," I signed. "_He knows what I am_."

He nodded. "You remind him of his lost daughter. He worries for you… Come, love. We best re-join them."

Despite our lapse we did not fall far behind. Giovanni was still climbing the steps to the front door when we strolled up behind him. There, he paused, surveying the big glass house.

"Whoa," he whistled, "your family's rich…"

I did not think I was supposed to hear him, but unbeknownst to him, he had just entered a house full of people with supernaturally-acute hearing.

Once inside, Carlisle gestured to the sofas, "Please, take a seat."

Now Giovanni looked uncomfortable, eyeing the pristine white lounge with trepidation. I knew the feeling. The first time I had stepped through these doors I'd been so worried that I would inadvertently break something, or traipse mud into the carpet. Everything looked so _expensive_… and that's because it probably was.

Smiling up at him I strode past and took a seat. He soon followed, sitting across from me as Edward sat at my side, idly placing his arm over the sofa-back behind me.

"Thank you, sir," he said to Carlisle.

From the kitchen Esme entered, and Alice and Jasper were sat cross-legged on the floor beside a chess-board in mid-play – looking for all the world like a pair of loitering teenagers. Removing his hat, Gio began to twist it between his fingers.

"I am Carlisle," Carlisle spoke politely as Esme took a seat, "this is my wife Esme and my sons Edward and Jasper, my daughter Alice. And, of course, you seem to know Bella."

"Lovely to meet you all," Gio nodded nervously. Twist… twist…

I noticed that the others were conspicuously absent – fewer numbers made for a less intimidating atmosphere. Good, poor Gio was already nervous enough.

"Would you like something to drink?" Esme asked, "Tea, water, lemonade?"

"Err, tea, thank you."

Esme vanished into the kitchen. As items started to clink Gio turned to me.

"Your actual name is Bella, then?"

"Isabella Swan," Edward answered for me.

"That is pretty. It suits you." He paused, seeming to consider his words carefully. "I am very happy to see you well… Bella… I had not thought to find you in such a good situation. Err… your friend… suggested that you may have been in a great deal of trouble."

"I am quite well." Edward translated my hand-signs and I smiled for emphasis.

"Yes," he nodded, smiling back, "you do indeed look happy."

Awkward silence.

To Edward, I silently signed. "_Tell him that you know what I am. I think he is unsure whether to bring it up or not. Perhaps he thinks that you do not know?_"

"He does wonder if we know," Edward whispered in my ear, aloud he said, "Bella tells me that you know her from the sea, that you met with her and the others that were… made like her… I believe you call them the '_sjó__söngvarar_'."

There was that word again. Giovanni's gawking stare coincided with Esme's return. She placed his tea before him and he thanked her quickly before returning to Edward.

"You know then?"

Edward nodded.

"I had wondered… That is good, very good. Then you will know best how to care for her as she is now."

"We are learning," Edward replied slowly, "although any more information you have on her kind would be appreciated."

Giovanni nodded, taking a sip of tea. "I will tell you what I can, of course, but my knowledge too is limited. I only really know what I have learnt since meeting them."

Carlisle joined in then, as Esme sat at his side. "So, where did you and our Bella meet?"

"Around L.A.," he said. "She came to visit me one day in my fishing boat with the others. I trade with the mermaids, you see."

At my side, Edward tensed. "So far…"

Giovanni seemed to hear his whisper. "That's around where their colony is based."

"You know where their home is?" Jasper interrupted, suddenly interested.

"Not the exact co-ordinates," Giovanni grimaced. "The girls have always been very careful not to reveal the location of their main hub… but over the years I have narrowed it down to a region in the North Pacific somewhere between California and Hawaii."

"That is a vast area," Jasper commented.

Gio shrugged, setting his cup down. What could he say, though? It was.

"Bella narrowed it down for me when she brought another injured girl to my boat. After having me call a Dr Cullen she had me return them home."

"I'm sorry," Esme interrupted, "did you say she had you call Carlisle?"

Five pairs of golden eyes flashed my way.

If possible, Carlisle looked paler than normal. "I remember that phone call…"

"That was you?!" Gio gasped, looking between us.

Edward blanched, going whiter than white, and the way he looked at me… he looked _hurt_. "You were on the other end of the line that day? _Why_ didn't you speak?"

I blinked, looking down. There were so many reasons, far too many to explain – especially with so many ears listening in. So I went with the easiest, silently tapping my throat. _No voice_.

"I guess that did cause a lot of problems…" he said. I knew I would have to speak with him later. "But then you found your way to another phone, eventually."

Yes I had… and while I had found a way to communicate using rocks I had still not waited for him when he'd asked me to, when he'd _begged_. I cringed just remembering how jumbled my mind had been during that time. Mara had infiltrated my thoughts, twisted my perceptions. Riana had not helped. Neither had any of the other sisters…

"So, Giovanni," Carlisle said, diverting focus, "what is it that brings you here to us? How did you know to look this way for Bella? Forgive me for saying so but it is a very long way from L.A. and the location you chose to search is very precise."

"Ah, yes," he said, setting his cup down once more, "well that is a tale…"

And so he spoke, of his missing daughter and his ensuing search, of the old legends of his tribe that so similarly reflected those of his Quileute cousins'. He spoke of how he had left in search of us and one day met a girl, Kiera by the sounds of it. After making contact, he had begun to 'trade' as he put it – though that implied we gave him things in return. The sisters always _took_, they never _gave_. He spoke of how he began to name us and, over time, established a kind of trust, hoping to one day extract news of his missing child… Then came the day that he met me…

"Xoco, I named her. She hung back from the others, too cautious to get near the boat. I still spoke to her. And then of course, when another was hurt she brought her straight to me. I patched her up as best I could but I'm no doctor. That's where you come in, I guess."

Carlisle rubbed his chin, eyes distant. "I take it the other girl recovered?" he asked.

Giovanni too looked curious, and I nodded for them both. Riana had recovered well.

"So after that I took the girls back," Gio carried on, "what with sharks in the waters it was dangerous for them to swim home alone. But you want to know what led me here, o' course. Well after that I saw no more of them. Not that it concerned me, I can go many a day without hide nor hair of them. But then, only a few days ago Little-Weed – a young sister – came to me in a frantic state." He shook his head, clearly reminiscing as he looked to me. And I tried vainly to remember which one of my sisters he had named Little-Weed. But I could not match the name to any particular one.

"When your sister eventually managed to explain that you had been taken by 'men with guns and nets', I feared the worst," he continued. "Little-Weed had a pad and pen I gave her and she wrote that there had been some kind of fight, and that the sisters had been scouring the shores for survivors, for you. But there was only so much that they could do from the sea. She asked for my help and directed me as best she could, with a map she indicated a place called La Push. Fortunately a niece and nephew of mine live there so I know the area. I immediately set out to see what I could do, though knowing how well my searches have gone in the past… I'm relieved to find you well. It was not so with many others…"

A wave of sadness covered his face; his expression mournful. And with that look my stomach dropped. What did he mean?

"Have you seen Cyralyn or Chepi?" he asked suddenly.

_Riana and Kali_. Those were his names for them. I shook my head, no. What had happened to them? My hands trembled so much that Edward gripped them in silent comfort.

Kali was likely still in the colony, she should be. Mara had kept her there during the attack at First Beach. But Riana had been there with me, what if she had followed me to shore, what if… Horrific ideas swirled in a chaotic miasma. My face crumpled.

"I don't mean to worry you," Giovanni was quick to assuage. "It's just that I'd have expected to hear the news of your disappearance from one of _them_, rather than any of your other sisters, but I haven't seen them. Take in mind that I did leave quickly, they may have been back at the colony or out searching for you in the North. They probably didn't have time to indulge in such frivolities as shopping at a time like this."

My hands rose to sign and Edward spoke. "Cyralyn was at La Push."

"Oh." He fell quiet… "I saw the bodies they retrieved, she was not among them."

"Chepi stayed at the colony,"Edward translated, looking ever more anxious with each word. Most of this would have been new information to him. "Our leader said that she was too little to come… but she never did like being restricted because of her size. What if…"

Gio's answer was quick. "Chepi was not there either. She is, as you say, probably back at the colony. However… I did recognise Kawailana and Moselle." He gave me a moment to let the news sink in. So, Lucrezia and Cathy were dead… I should have felt more sadness, but they were not well known to me. There was still a small pang of loss. Their deaths had been needless. Finally, he added, "There were also several others that I could not name. When I was there earlier today, at First Beach, they were still uncovering the dead."

"Still," Alice trilled with surprise, "that has taken them sometimes. Bella has been back with us for over a week."

Giovanni looked sad. "It can take time for the sea to deliver up those it takes."

Quiet fell and I did not know how to feel. It was hard to feel anything for them away from the colony, with no connection, no link. The mind-hive dictated what should be felt, or not felt, without out it I was alone, oddly like I had been cast adrift.

"I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad tidings," Giovanni said, and with his pained expression he did look as though he meant it, "but again I must reiterate how glad I am to find that you are not among their number. There was a man there now that I hoped never to see again. His name is Balthazar, I've dealt with him in the past and he is not to be trusted."

"We've met him," Edward said. His jaw tensed.

"Oh," Giovanni swallowed, "well, let me warn against becoming acquainted with him. That man has a cold heart and if he could get hold of Bella…" Words failed him.

"We are aware of his nature," Edward said, "be assured that we are steering clear."

He nodded, reassured.

Silence stretched and the wool hat continued to twist in Gio's hands; the only sound to break the quiet. No one seemed to have anything to say. And I could not speak.

"Well I best be leaving now." Giovanni moved to rise. "Now I have ascertained your state, the Quileute's told me that they may have some information on mermaid lore that I'd be interested in. Turns out my niece, Leah, is a proficient study." _Leah! As in _our_ Leah_. I darted a glance at Edward, who nodded, though neither of us interrupted. "It may help in the search for my daughter. But I had to make sure you were okay first. I wanted to be sure that it was indeed _you_ that had been returned to her family." Smiling, he turned to Carlisle and Esme, who rose with him. "Thank you, Dr Cullen, Mrs Cullen, for your hospitality."

"Anytime," Carlisle said as he led him to the door, "it was a pleasure to meet you too. Perhaps if we could exchange contact details we could discuss more at length…"

He was leaving, Giovanni was leaving…

An idea struck me then – blind-siding me with its possibilities – and I jumped up, snatching Giovanni's hand. As soon as I had his attention I made a halting motion, indicating that I wanted him to 'wait' and proceeded to dash upstairs. And I didn't even stumble!

Unsure if or where I would find what I wanted I ran into the most likely place to find such a thing – Edward's room. He soon joined me, at human pace of course, we had a guest.

"So that was your fisherman friend? The one you mentioned visiting." I nodded, preoccupied with his bookcase. "What is it you're searching for?" he asked.

I struggled for a moment; there was no mermaid word for _atlas_. Frustrated, I clicked my fingers, trying to come up with the right word. In the end the best I could think of was: "other place, not here". That explanation didn't clear up the confusion on his face and with a frustrated huff I returned to the bookshelf, but there was nothing there that would help. He had just about every other book known to man or vampire, but no atlas? …Really?

"Whatever you're looking for may be in Carlisle's office?" he suggested.

I barely managed to turn towards the door before I'd been swung up in Edward's arms; he darted through the upstairs hall, soon depositing me in front of the numerous bookcases of Carlisle's study. Apparently he was just as eager as to find what I was looking for as I was.

"Other place… not here," Edward muttered as he browsed the upper selves. I scanned the lower section – the area I could reach. "Is this what you're looking for?"

He had an atlas! Beaming, I hopped up to peck him on the cheek – My marvellous vampire! – before something over his shoulder caught my eye. The massive poster covered the wall – it was a map of the world. Even better… How had I failed to see that before? Edward noticed my pre-occupation and laughed. Opening a draw he retrieved another.

"Perfect," I clicked, glancing down into the drawer. There were a lot in there, would Carlisle mind if I destroyed one? "_Can I draw on this?_" I signed.

"Sure, sketch away, we have plenty of them." He grabbed a marker

We returned to the living room at a more human pace – just because Giovanni was well acquainted with the mermaids didn't mean he needed to be informed of any other supernatural races. I placed the map on the coffee-table, rolling it open and pinning it with coasters before looking to Carlisle for permission. This was his map after all. He nodded, giving me the go-ahead, while Edward and Jasper came to stand by my shoulders.

Considering the map for a moment I began to sketch the colony-territories in bold black ink, outlining the west coast of America from the tip of Vancouver to the coast of Costa Rica, and circling around to about half way across the Pacific, including Hawaii, and back up to Alaska – those were _Maran_ Waters. I labelled them as such. I wasn't _too_ sure of the territory lines but that seemed about right. Inscribing a smaller circle in the centre of that area, I marked Dakara, my colony. After a moment I added a question mark. I knew it was somewhere there but I couldn't pin-point the location exactly – unfortunately the area I'd marked was easily 500 miles wide. Furthermore I outlined the _Tirranian_ territories North-East of the Coral Sea which harboured the Australian colony and the _Adrielan_ territories in the South Pacific which harboured the Chilean colony (our closest neighbours). There were also unknown territories in the South Atlantic which harboured the African colony, and the Celtic Sea which harboured the Irish colony. Those were the only ones I knew of – that I had discovered from talk in the hive-mind – but I'd bet a shoal of tuna that there'd be more.

"I'm not sure how much help this will be." Edward translated for me. "But if your daughter is housed in another colony, as you believe, it may help."

"This is… this…" he seemed flabbergasted. "In all my years… never have I…"

"Your best bet would be to ask the residents of Tirran or Adriel," Edward continued for me. "They roam the same Sea and are our closest neighbours. I also hear that they are much more hospitable than my sisters, less… homicidally inclined. They like human men. That's just hearsay though, so I'd still be careful. Don't get too close to the water."

He laughed; shock predominant. "Don't worry, I've spent more years dealing with mermaids than you have little one. I know how to protect myself."

I nodded. "Those are the only other colonies I'm aware of but I'm told there are more." After Riana had revealed that others existed I had done a little delving into the hive-mind and come up with these scraps of information. Most were disjointed, but when placed together they formed a bigger picture. "There may be ten or so that I can't name or place, but those are further out. Maybe they will give you help at the other colonies."

I lifted the map and handed it to him. It shook in his hands.

"This is… _more_ than I could have hoped for," he murmured, clearly astounded by my gift. He traced the lines reverently as if he were handling the Holy Grail. "Thank you, _thank_ you Xoco – err, I mean, Bella. I may have a real chance at getting her back now…"

"No problem, I hope you find her."

"So do I," he murmured, a new light birthing in his eyes.

"If I may ask, what is your daughter's name?"

"Solie," he said the name softly, sighing as he did, "it's short for Soledad."

I thought back to those I knew of in the Colony but could not remember that name coming up. Then again that didn't mean much – the Colony was a big place and in the hive-mind people's 'sense of self' could be easily lost. Some mermaids had forgotten their names. And then, there was always the possibility of the other colonies.

"Not that I'm not grateful," Giovanni said then, recapturing my attention, "but… why give me this now? Your kind have always kept your secrets closely guarded."

"Mara cannot punish me for revealing information here… saying that, I wouldn't let slip that you know all of this to any of my sisters. They can be volatile at the best of times."

"Mara…?" he frowned.

I blinked while Edward waited. "Oh, you call her Hehewuti."

"Ah, the warrior-mother. Your leader."

I nodded. "But more than that, I trust you." Edward cut in then, adding to my words. "Can we have your guarantee that this information will not fall into the wrong hands?"

"Oh, of course," he responded, all seriousness, "and as a show of good faith I won't take your map." He gave it one last look-over and tossed it into the fire in the hearth. There the paper blackened and curled into ashes. "I'll keep the information up here." He tapped his temple. "And never speak a word of it. Saying that, I assume you'd prefer the Quileutes…"

"Not to know," Edward finished with a nod, "if you'd please restrict the information."

"Of course, and their affiliation with Balthazar is something to worry about." He nodded, clapping his hands together and looking so much more full of life than I had ever seen. "Now I really must be going. It seems I have a journey to plan. Thank you, again, for your hospitality and your help. I'm so glad to see you well, little one."

As we stood on the lawn watching him pull out of the drive. Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Sometimes, love, I believe you are far too trusting for your own good."

That made me tense. "Was there something in his thoughts to merit caution?" Had Edward heard something bad?

"No, his intentions were entirely honourable. He is a good man. But had he not been, how would you have known? That information could cause a great deal of damage in the wrong hands, something that he well knows."

Ah, so Edward had read Giovanni and found his motives to be pure. That was a relief.

My lips quirked, and I signed, "_Lucky for me I have a certain telepathically inclined fiancé who can warn me of such intentions_."

An eyebrow raised. "You're relying on my mind-reading capabilities?"

"Uh-huh," I clicked. "Besides, he burnt the map and travelled hundreds of miles to try and find me when he thought I needed help. Those aren't the actions of a man with ill intent."

"He is a good man," Edward nodded thoughtfully, "and while he will do just about anything to track down the daughter he's lost, that does not include the revelation of any of the information you have given him to untrustworthy sources. In short, he intends to take that knowledge to the grave rather than risk the lives of any of the girls."

"Good, I just hope it can help him… I hope I didn't give him false hope."

Edward shrugged, placing his arm around my shoulder as I slipped into his side. The sun was setting now and the sky was coloured with red and gold.

"He would have continued his search regardless; you just gave him more to go on, you made him happy, or at least as happy as he can be whilst he searches for his child."

That comment struck harder than Edward intended and my thoughts took a darker road.

"How's Charlie?" I clicked quietly, suddenly feeling a weight of grief.

A battle waged behind his eyes as I saw him settle on and discard various answers.

"I think… for now… it is best that I not answer that question."

That was perhaps the _worst_ answer. My lips squashed together as I grimaced, turning into his chest. He pulled me close while he stroked my hair. His soothing touch helped to settle me, but still, Charlie could not be pushed onto the backburner of our lives forever. He was still searching for me. I needed to decide what I was going to do. _We_ needed to decide.

"I didn't hurt Gio," I said then, thinking of his scent, "I didn't even want to."

"I saw." A spark of pride appeared in his eyes. "You withstood his scent very well."

"But that's just it! He didn't even smell good. He was actually kind of yucky." My nose wrinkled. "But I was always told that the blood-thirst would be undeniable. In the Colony they made it sound like it was something similar to what you describe newborn vampires feel. But just now, I felt nothing!" My thoughts trailed off then. "I wonder why that is…"

"Perhaps," he smiled, moving some strands of hair from my eyes, "it is just because you are exceptional."

"Perhaps it's because I am faulty." I always thought I was as a human…

"That is never a word I would use to describe you."

Deciding on another topic, I asked, "Why did you ask him not to tell the Quileutes?"

The stroking stopped. "Balthazar, clearly. And leverage."

His answer confused me, but as I looked up to question him Jasper came outside.

"Bella," he said, gesturing over his shoulder, "may I have a word?"

I nodded and curiously followed him back into the house, wondering what he wanted to talk to me about. Jasper and I spent little time together, compared to the other members of the Cullen family, so this should be interesting.

"That's a very good idea, Jasper," Edward said as he trailed us. As he slipped his hand into mine I looked up quizzically, silently asking for an explanation. All he did was cock his head in Jasper's direction, directing my attention back to his brother.

"Come to the study."

We quietly traipsed up the flights of stairs. Once there Jasper proceeded to unfold another poster-sized world map across the desk and swivelled it to face me.

"You showed your mariner friend where to find other mermaid colonies, not to mention the position of the one you lived in."

"_It was not the exact positions_," I signed.

"Nevertheless, you still have a good idea of the areas and the extent of the territories surrounding them, yes?"

"Yes."

"Would you please mark them off for us again?" He held out another black pen. "I think it would be a good idea to catalogue the information. It may come in useful someday."

"Okay," I agreed easily enough.

The Cullens would pose no threat to my kin and I was sure that Carlisle would get a kick out of it. It only occurred to me half-way through my reconstruction that both Edward and Jasper had photographic memories and would remember everything I had drawn for Gio. I pointed this out. Jasper said that he had not seen it, and Edward wanted to see more detail, if I could manage. Once done, Jasper looked it over, contemplating territory lines and distances.

"These areas you circled for the main colonies…" he said. "They cover several _hundred_ miles of seabed."

"_Yes, I told you, I'm not sure exactly where they are. In fact, I might not have even gotten that right… it's just in the vague vicinity_…"

"But the colonies themselves aren't hundreds of miles in size?"

"God no!" I clicked with a laugh, then thought about it a bit more thoroughly. "…They _are_ quite big, huge in fact. The colony I was in was all underground. It had tunnels that travelled for miles and miles under the seabed… but I wouldn't say _hundreds_ of miles, no."

"Do you have any idea of the number of inhabitants in each territory?"

"I haven't been to any of the others," I admitted – with the human no longer present it was easier to click. "I stuck to _Maran_ waters and I never saw a mermaid from another colony during my stay… as far as I know. It seemed to be rare to come across foreigners."

Jasper's face was deep in thought. "So they don't hold close allegiances…"

As he rubbed a hand across his chin, he studied the map closely. That was his strategist face, he had worn it often enough during the time with the newborns. It made me nervous.

"No," I said slowly, "actually there seems to be some bad-blood between us and the closest colony… I heard gossip. Some of the mermaids said that we lost contact with our closest neighbours due to 'irrevocable ethical differences'." That was how Riana had phrased it, wasn't it? "I was led to believe that the main issue was the consumption of human blood… or maybe it was the killing itself. It was to do with human rights, though. And Mara's treatment of them, like cattle." That was something else I had learnt, over time. Though it had confused me then – did not all mermaids need to survive on human blood at some point? The knowledge I had gained had eventually been obscured in the hive-mind. It had become hazy and distant and I had forgotten I knew it for a time, like so many of my memories…

"That is interesting," Jasper muttered. "You have not openly spoken about blood consumption before." I tensed. "We knew, of course, about mermaids' diets, even before that night at First Beach. Is that something that is generally required within your population? You seem to have managed alright without. The fresh seafood sustains you well, does it not?"

The questions were spoken so plainly, so calmly, but I didn't need to be _him_ to detect the tension underneath his probing. I darted a glance at Edward; his face was too blank.

I spoke carefully, "I was told it was requisite… that the blood-hunger-" I cringed at the word "-would make itself known… but it never did. I found that other foods were enough."

A moment of silence – Jasper tactfully diverted, "So, the numbers in your colony…?"

"I can't be sure."

"A rough estimate."

"Six, seven hundred… maybe?" I shrugged, too uncertain. "You'd be better off asking another mermaid who's lived there longer than I."

"Okay," he nodded, "to know they number in the hundreds is good enough for now."

Beside me I Edward spoke stiffly. "I had no idea there were so many. I had thought that the ones we saw at First Beach were the majority, if not all, of the colony, as you call it."

"More were there than you saw, many stayed below the water and much further out," I said, trailing off into quiet thought. "Very few of us showed ourselves."

The memories washed over me like a tentative wave lapping at the shore. Vague recollections of screams, the sweet salt-tang of blood in the water, the scent of the dying…

And now, as I watched Jasper and Edward absorb themselves in the information I had so freely given – like Generals mapping the front-lines of a battlefield – I had to wonder if I had done the right thing in showing them this. Or should I just have kept my big mouth shut?

… 

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the awesome reviews from last week. :) **

**The mermaid naming is ongoing for now, so if you haven't already made a suggestion and you still want to, there is time. Nemma **


	41. Chapter 41 - The Council

**A/N: So I recently found notes for a Jacob chapter that I completely forgot about. It perhaps should have been earlier, but you've got it now. Just remember as you read that the wolves are a little behind on Bella's developments as they only saw her that once after Jake, Leah and Seth took her from La Push to hand over to the Cullens. And then it was only Sam and a few of the others wolves (chapter 36).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 41: The Council – Jacob POV

"You went there, and yet you return empty handed!" Balthazar stormed, pacing before Sam like a wild and very agitated beast. "Why, _why_ could you not retrieve her? You have an entire pack. That creature has vital information. And she was right there!"

They were all stood in the dark, smoky council hut – a place in the centre of the forest reserved for pack meetings and the like: stuff to do with supernatural business that needed to be discussed _away_ from other oblivious humans. The entire pack was gathered there, and all of the Quileute elders, including Sue Clearwater, Billy Black and old Quil Atearea.

"Right there guarded by _a coven of vampires_," Embry noted, "you missed that part."

"One obstacle." Balthazar huffed, waving him away with a blasé hand.

"Indeed." Embry's chuckle had a dark edge. "Let's see you take on a mature coven of seven vampires, _human_."

The comment only made the hunter scowl up to where Embry sat perched on a high ledge overlooking the proceedings. He had taken the seat as soon as they had entered, saying that he wanted a clear view of all of the action, whatever that meant. Balthazar opened his mouth, to say what Jake had no idea, because Sam stepped up and fluidly cut him off.

"The Cullens are our allies and Bella is one of theirs, we would not negate the treaty by trespassing on their land and attempting to kidnap one of their own."

"She was in our custody first," Balthazar blustered, thunder on his face, "and I'd hardly say that she is one of their own. She is a sea-beast!"

"Nonetheless, she is covered by their protection."

"The Cold Ones protecting a mermaid." His scoff then was thick with derision. "That's rich – all monsters banding together, eh? Hey, wasn't there some clause in your treaty that's supposed to prevent this? I'm sure I read it somewhere. Aren't they going against it by increasing their numbers? I thought that was forbidden. Can't we get 'um on that?"

Jake shared a look with Embry. So he was trying to wheedle his way around the treaty.

"They are forbidden from increasing their numbers by _turning_ another human," Jake said quickly. "Bella is neither human, nor turned into a vampire. The rule does not apply."

Unlike Embry, Jake was on the ground near Balthazar, much closer to the hunter than he'd have liked. The stench of seawater and blood still clung to him like a bad cologne, even several weeks on from the night of the attack. Did the guy ever bathe? Probably not.

"More importantly, she was not turned by them," Sam added, giving Jake a look he could not fail to interpret: stay calm. "They had nothing to do with her transformation."

"But they are hindering our efforts to stop the mermaids now!" Balthazar's temper had spiked, he was practically shouting. "More will die if that thing is not made to speak out."

Paul huffed then, and pinned Jake with his stare. "It's difficult for us to act, uncle, when one of our own handed her over to them without a fuss."

"Make that three," Seth perked up. "Leah and I were there too, or have you forgotten?"

"It's hard to," Paul sneered, "three of our own, taking sides with leeches? It turns my stomach to even think of it."

Seth frowned, opening his mouth, and Leah stepped up beside him, glaring at Paul.

"I spoke to Carlisle and Edward," Sam spoke up, interrupting the brewing fight. He faced the council where the three sat at the other end of the hut on a long bench. "When I saw them, they had Alice bring Bella out. She is not doing so well. She cannot walk, she is barely eating, and she cannot speak. The question of her being a threat is practically defunct."

"What?" Jake gasped.

This was all news to him, but then, they had only just brought him out of solitary ten minutes ago – where they had locked him up again after his little 'altercation' on First Beach the day he had been sent out to help clear up the dead. Leah and Seth had been allowed to stay out – they had kept their tempers in check – but he had not heard from them, or spoken to them, since the night they'd saved Bella. He hadn't been given a chance to. Now, he wished they'd had time to talk. Had they seen her too? What did they know? He looked to Sam then, his gaze almost beseeching. His alpha sighed, looking very weary.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I would have told you in private but this meeting has made it prudent for me to divulge this information now. And besides," he spoke louder, turning to the others, "since the battle at First Beach there have been no reported attacks anywhere across the west coast, not even any more disappearances. Everything has stopped, the _Sjó__söngvarar_ have withdrawn. The threat has passed."

Balthazar scoffed. "The threat has never passed."

"It has been weeks."

"The threat is _never_ passed, and it won't be until every single one of those things is dead and rotting on the ocean floor, where they belong!"

Silence fell; thick and heavy.

"So much for a purposed peace treaty," Quil said, "that was never the plan, was it?"

"It was on our end," Billy said from the bench, scowling at the hunter. "You should have told us that you had other plans, Balthazar. Perhaps then we could have averted such a disastrous outcome. Lives could have been saved. We needn't have gone to war."

"They were always going to take lives," he scoffed, "we just acted first."

"Precisely, _we_ struck the _first_ blow, our side not theirs. After we asked for peace. That doesn't make us look very honourable, does it?"

"Don't let the vampires here you saying that," Embry added darkly, "they think the mermaids struck first, they'd be livid if they knew your guy pulled the gun that started it all."

"I'm surprised they didn't see it," Quil said, "being vamps an all." Embry shrugged.

"It was always going to be a fight for lives," Balthazar sighed, "that is just their way."

"It was never supposed to be a fight though," Jake's voice was heated, and even with Sam's quelling look he plunged on, "we drew them there with the express purpose of asking about Bella, to see if we could peacefully get her back, and if not then at least to ascertain what had happened to her, to see if she was alive, to see if we could see her."

Balthazar was shaking his head before Jake had finished. He muttered something under his breath, it sounded like, "…lost to the sea…" That only spike Jake's anger, it boiled beneath his skin making the wolf within growl and shake, itching for releases.

"And after all of that she _was_ there and they shot at her!" Jake exploded, hands fisting at his side, "Your men tried to kill the girl we were trying to save!"

"_You_ were trying to save. I told you, boy. She is already lost."

Jake stepped forward. "Call me boy again-"

Quil jumped up and placed a hand to his shoulder while Balthazar cut him off.

"-She is not who she was. She is a monster now. A sea-demon. And I have my own objective: to see her and all of her kind wiped from the seas of this Earth!"

His statement rang up to the rafters, echoing back. It was clear to Jake then, so clear – this man that he had brought back to their rez had _never_ wanted to help them.

Balthazar sighed again, his anger draining away as he looked to Sam. "It is not so different from your own hope, is it? To see the vampire threat eradicated?"

"Some of us are more set on that than others," Paul noted sourly, eyeing Seth and… Jake? Pah, as if he wanted to see vampires roaming around. Why would he… Oh, because of the time he had spent with Edward recently. But that had all been to find Bella!

And there was that ominous silence again. Outside crickets chirped.

"Erm…" Seth perked up, making heads turn. "Probably not my place to ask this, but does Balthazar have an official seat on the council?" He blithely indicated to where he stood at the centre of the hut in his flapping black overcoat, casting judgement as if he were the goddamned Chief of their tribe. "Cause he's acting like it and I don't think he does."

"He's right, you don't," Sue Clearwater said. "If you wish to continue being a part of this meeting, mermaid hunter, then I ask that you participate in silence or be removed."

With a gruff huff Balthazar took a seat in the far corner, sitting in shadow, while Jake held his hand out flat behind his back, and smirking, Seth slapped it.

Paul noticed and scowled, but said nothing.

"Nonetheless," Old Quil spoke up then, "Balthazar has brought up a valid point. We do need to be able to protect ourselves against these creatures. Another visit to the Cullen house may be necessary in the future, but for now, let's discuss other options…"

"There is no need!"

"Calm down, Jacob Ephraim Black." Old Quil held up a shaking claw of a hand. "We do not mean to harm the Swan girl. We do not condone violence and as your Alpha, Sam Uley, has already explained, the girl is crippled and weak. She poses no threat." He paused, taking a breath. "However," Oh, he did not like that tone… "that may change with time. We need to keep an eye on her, to ensure that she is safe. She cannot go unchecked."

Jake frowned. "So, what are you saying?"

"You were close to her once, am I correct?"

Billy spoke up then, before Jake could think to reply. "Bella is the daughter of Charlie Swan, Police Chief of Forks and friend of this tribe. She spent many summers here while growing up, with my son and my two older daughters."

Despite his father's addition, old Quil kept his eyes fixed on Jake, waiting…

"Yes," he said, warily, "she is my friend." _Best friend, who he'd once hoped would become more…_

"Then, you would be welcome within the Cullens home?"

Oh, now he was beginning to understand.

"You want me to go to the leeches' house? You want me to _spy_?"

"We would like you to gather information. And let us know of her true state over time."

He had to laugh at that, at his alternate word choice. As if it made what he was requesting any different.

"Sure-sure, I'll do what you want. I'll go to see Bella. I always planned to anyway, once I'd been released." He eyed them significantly. _Not gonna forget that you locked me up!_

Old Quill nodded. "But you cannot tell them the reasons that you are there. They cannot know your true intent."

The laugh he released then was bitter. "Don't worry, I won't say a word." He looked to the three of them: to old Quil shivering in his thick furry coat, to Sue who sat with a stoic and determined set to her lips, to Billy, his dad, who was frowning but saying nothing and not meeting Jake's eyes. "Unless there's anything else, may I leave now?"

Old Quil held up a hand. "Go, grandson of Ephraim."

Jake didn't like any of this, any of the machinations and manipulations that now seemed to dominate the council. But he was loyal to them, to their people. And it was true, they had to be sure that Bella was not a threat. Checking without her knowledge was wrong though, that was what he took issue with. Bella deserved to know that she was being assessed. And she had his loyalty too, always would, no matter what.

He hadn't lied when he'd said he wouldn't tell the Cullens or Bella why he was really going to see them, what his true purpose was. He wouldn't _say_ a word. However, they had forgotten one thing: espionage would be a little difficult around a very attentive, very protective, telepathic vampire fiancé who could read every thought he had. Ha...

…

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the great reviews from last week. :) **

**The mermaid naming is ongoing for now, so if you haven't already made a suggestion and you still want to, there is time. Nemma **


	42. Chapter 42 - Reconnecting

**Happy 'eclipse day' everyone. Thanks, as always, for all of your great supportive reviews/fols/favs – they keep the writing going. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 42: Reconnecting – BPOV

"We are going on a family hunting trip overnight," Alice announced as she danced into Edward's room with her ballerina gait and a tray full of fresh fish for breakfast.

Sometimes Edward would vanish early in the morning, while it was still dark, to fish-up new supplies, but mainly that job fell to Jasper and Emmett – who were really starting to enjoy the pre-dawn fishing trips. It was becoming something of a contest between the two of them now to see who could bring home the biggest catch. Lately Jasper had been winning and Emmett was a little sore over it. And it looked like they had been at it again last night – I couldn't be sure what fish they had caught this time, as there was only a small piece of it, but anything with a flipper that big had to be a behemoth of the primordial era… And it was far too early to even think of things like that. I yawned, stretching my arms out in front of me.

I wondered briefly where Edward was, he was usually around when I woke up and he hadn't told me that he was going anywhere last night. Alice answered that as she helped me to sit up, plumping my pillow and saying something about his car and an oil change.

As she set the tray on my lap, I signed, "_Does this mean that I'm staying home alone then?_"

Alice snorted, rather indelicately. "Don't be silly, of course you won't be home alone." She rolled her eyes as she perched on the edge of the bed. "Edward will be staying with you, _obviously_."

"Oh," I yawned again, ruffling my hair. It stuck up in a crazy morning bird-nest that – Oh! Then her words registered, and suddenly I forgot about breakfast.

"_So_," I signed, "_are you saying that_ _we'll have the house to ourselves?_"

"Yes," she smiled, "that is what I am saying. You two deserve some time alone, you haven't really had any since you got back."

A shadow fell over her elfin features and I knew she was reminiscing again. My time missing was still a sore spot for Alice as well as the others. The pain I saw there made me look away, back down to my food. Just for something to do I picked up my fork and started to pick at it.

So the family were doing this for us? Leaving the house to us for one night? It would be the first time since my return that Edward and I would be truly, completely alone. And I was not unaware of that… Neither was Edward, judging by the way he kept looking at me for the rest of the morning; with eyes of liquid gold that burnt and smouldered. Once I was dressed and up and walking down the stairs, Edward had wandered in from the garage wiping his hands on a rag. His gaze seemed to follow me wherever I went after that. My legs became clumsier than normal, and stumbled and tripped and blushed for no good reason! Edward was always there, with a reassuring hand on my elbow r back, to steady me. The contact only made me more flustered, not less. Which was ridiculous. It wasn't like he'd never touched me that way before. In fact, we had been getting much closer leading up to the wedding. Emmett found it all very amusing and he joked that I might be reverting to my pre-mermaid klutzy self.

When the family finally did leave in the early afternoon, Edward and I stood together on the front steps to watch them go. Carlisle clasped Edward silently on the shoulder as he passed, while Esme gave us both a big hug and reminded me that fresh oysters had been placed in the fridge. And Alice kissed both me and Edward on the cheeks before dancing down the steps. She and Rosalie flitted down the drive to join the boys in their new jeep – a black mechanical monster of a thing, fitting really, considering it was for vampires.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Emmett called from the driver's seat, leaning out over the window frame.

"That really doesn't cover much," Jasper snorted as he leapt onto the back-bay.

"_Precisely_," Emmett grinned, and winked.

A small blush coloured my cheeks and I looked down at my suddenly-interesting feet. Carlisle shook his head as he climbed into his own car, while Esme aimed an ineffective scowl their way. Once they were all in, Emmett's engine revved to life and with a spray of gravel he took off. Carlisle's Mercedes followed at a more sedate, yet still alarmingly fast, pace. Vampires and their cars.

"So," Edward said as I turned to him, "what do you want to do today?"

…

Most of the day Edward and I spent reconnecting. It was different when we had the place to ourselves, freer. We could speak without eavesdroppers – accidental or otherwise – and we could touch and nuzzle and kiss without fear of Emmett's ever-present innuendos.

It was nice.

It was more than nice…

And with each of his touches – a lazy pass of his hand over mine as we both reached for the remote, a gentle arm around my waist as he tugged me closer on the sofa, a brief and (accidental?) caress of his hand as we walked to the kitchen – I felt a little of that once-familiar spark. The electricity shocked me each time, like a new jolt to my dormant mermaid heart. It reminded me of the Bella I used to be, the Bella he had fallen in love with, the Bella who had examined slides with him in biology class, and who loved him back with all of her heart.

My cold blood felt noticeably warmer as dusk set in and the day descended into a violet and pink evening, not so much that it flushed my cheeks, but noticeable enough for me. And, as his hand held mine while we watched TV, I wondered if he noticed it too. Feeling a little bolder than usual, I took his hand and wound it around my waist, leaning into his chest and resting my cheek on the hollow beneath his chin. He sigh he released was full of contentment.

Dinner followed: candlelit, three courses of various fish. Then a generic rom-com came on that I paid little attention to, and a moonlit stroll in the night-time woodland outside. He picked flowers for me as we walked, wild violets, and I placed a peck on his cheek in thanks. My legs were stable enough now that I could walk easily for an extended period of time and I loved the fresh night air against my face, it mixed with the thick pollen scent of the flowers. I held my head up to it and the breeze played in my hair, whipping the strands about, and I laughed my strange echoing laugh before turning to Edward. The look on his face made me stop still. His eyes were fixated, and they were so dark that I shivered.

He stepped closer, moving lithely through the shadows, and shifted the tangled hair from my face, pushing it gently back behind me and laying one hand against my neck. It lingered. The action, his closeness, his touch… All combined sent another shiver tingling down my spine.

And my eyes were trapped by his.

He swallowed noticeably.

"Cold?" he asked.

It took me a moment to respond. "No, not cold."

Even so, he pulled off his jacket and placed it around my shoulders – such an Edward thing to do. I smiled, pulling the fabric close and inhaling as we slowly walked on into the trees. His scent was much stronger to my new senses; lilac and honey and sunshine and _him_.

"Perhaps you should have gone on the hunting trip too," I clicked quietly.

That made him stop, and for an instant I thought he looked hurt, until he masked it with his easy expressionlessness. "If you would have preferred Alice or Esme to stay with you-"

"-No, no," I stopped him quickly. "I didn't mean that. I'm glad that you're here. I didn't want anyone else. I really love that we're getting this time to ourselves, it's just…"

"Just what?" he coaxed.

"Your eyes," I said, and he frowned a little. "They're so dark. Aren't you thirsty?" It had been a while since he'd hunted. Was he avoiding it to keep close? He'd done that before.

"Oh." He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck, and the darkness in his eyes seemed to recede. Suddenly he looked… embarrassed? "No, Bella. I'm not thirsty."

He coughed, clearing his throat – an entirely unnecessary thing for a vampire to do…

"Are you sure you don't want to go inside?" he said, and now I knew he was diverting.

"No, I like it out here, and besides I can't 'catch a chill' anymore, Edward. Mermaids are built to withstand much cooler temperatures."

He reached up to brush another flighty lock of hair back behind my ear, again, and as he did, his skin trailed deliciously over my cheek.

"I've noticed," he said, his eyes darkening again.

"I can hunt now too." The words just popped out!

His hand stilled and his eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

"Umm," I said, hurrying to explain, "well it's not like fish just swam up to my mouth while I was in the sea. I had to learn so that I could eat."

The look on his face was inscrutable and I wondered what he was thinking.

"That's something I should have been there to teach you to do," he finally said, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. "It's something I planned to walk you through after you were turned."

Before I could say anything else, he rallied himself and looked back to me with a smile.

"You never have spoken much about your time at sea. At first I did not ask because I did not wish to press you, I was just so relieved to have you back that I didn't wish for anymore, and then when you settled I was not sure that you wished to speak of it, but now I find my curiosity piqued. Will you tell me a little about it, love? What was it like to hunt?"

I swallowed, unsure if this was what he really wanted to hear or if he was just deflecting from his own morose train of thought. If so, would speaking of it just add to his sadness? His coaxing expression spurred me on though, regardless.

"Well," I began, "I always loved the way the water would whip past my skin. At speed it feels like silk, and when we hunt we swim faster and faster and the silk rushes past. Then, when the fish dart they can be so fast and small, they're tricky, and with the adrenaline pumping through our systems and the scents of the sea, it's all just something so… so…"

"Primal?" he supplied, smiling a little crookedly.

"Yes."

The look on his face then, the intense fixation as he watched me speak, made me bite my lip. His eyes darted down at the movement and I slowly released it. But his eyes remained on the spot as the skin flexed back into place. And the silence stretched between us.

"Have you never hunted at sea?" I asked, a little shakily.

He blinked, his dark amber eyes rising to mine, and his smile softened, and curled.

"We Cullens, as you know, only hunt animals – they are the closest creatures to humans and their blood sustains us, even if it does not taste as good. Sea creatures, however, are even farther removed from humans." He grimaced. "Their blood is so much colder; their skin is rubbery and thick. But I did once, on a dare." His grimace stretched so comically then that I had to laugh. "All that whale blubber, ugh!"

I held a hand to my lips, steadying the laughter. "Let me guess, Emmett dared you?"

"Who else?" he sighed, "That was back in 1945. Ten years after he'd joined us. He may have been out of his newborn phase but he was still eager to try anything new, or dare _others_ to try anything new."

"Why would you do such a thing?" I giggled, "And a whale too?"

His eyebrows rose high. "You're one to talk, miss. You once told me that you ate _dirt_ on a dare. How is this any different?"

I gaped for a moment. "Are you seriously asking how me eating dirt compares to you eating whale?" I barked out a laugh. "I'm a mermaid, Edward, or perhaps you missed the tail. I eat whale for breakfast!"

A surprised chuckle startled from his lips. "That wasn't what I meant, Bella. But whale, really?" The surprise passed from his face to be replaced with a gently chiding look. "That's not very environmentally friendly, love. You do know that whale species are endangered now."

With a gentlemanly flare, he held my hand up and led me to a fallen tree trunk, where we sat side by side. Moss covered it, providing nice cushiony seats, and I fiddled with my violets, placing them in my lap.

"They are around my territory," I quipped, watching him as he laughed again – he threw his head back to expose his pale throat – then I became serious. "Actually I haven't eaten whale, only smaller stuff: cod, mussels, halibut, squid. Shark was the biggest. And I didn't purposefully go after that…" My speech trailed off as I remembered; the shadow, the screams, the massive weight bowling into me, the pain lancing my side…

Edward, very gently, reached out and lifted the hem of my blouse a little, just enough to bare the skin of my midriff to the cool night air. The action sent my heart speeding off, and as his cool fingers brushed over the raised scar there, my breathing hitched too.

His touch was gentle, ghosting, as his long fingers followed the full length of the arc from the tip under the material of my just-hidden bra to the pinnacle that disappeared below my jeans, next to my belly-button. It wasn't romantic. It was closer to clinical. But every inch of skin burned in the wake of his touch like fire. Carefully, he let my blouse back down.

After a long moment, his eyes rose to me – two swirling whirlpools of barely harnessed emotion. "Will you tell me how it happened, love?"

I gulped, looking to my lap and the flowers there. Yet still his gaze drew the words from me.

"I was out on my first hunt," I said. "I went with a small group – they were set to watch me as I was so new and they thought I might bolt. We were only supposed to be going after a shoal of tuna; to catch and bring back some for the colony… but the trip didn't exactly go to plan."

His hand touched mine as I faltered. The movement eased me a little and my words flowed more freely.

"It all happened very quickly, I only saw a shadow. It went after one of the others, a young girl, and I tried to get her away. Then it grabbed me." I shivered, remembering too clearly that moment; the brute force, the breath exploding from my lungs, the sheer panic and utter helplessness. "I had a knife, one of the others threw it to me, and I just stabbed at it until it let go. I don't remember much after that. Except for your voice…"

"My voice?" Edward deadpanned. His hand on mine stiffened, I felt it.

I nodded. "You remember when we returned from Volterra? I told you about hearing your voice when I was in dangerous situations?"

He nodded, his eyes darkening in a different more dangerous way.

"Well, I think it was something like that. You were telling me to fight, to not give up."

I chanced a look up. His eyes closed, shutting himself off to me and I finished quickly.

"They carried me back and nursed me. I was in bed for a week but I was okay. I healed." I used 'okay' instead of 'fine' on purpose. He hated fine – even though it meant the same thing.

He remained silent then, and I did not want to push him so I let him be with his thoughts, allowing him to work through them by himself – that always seemed to be the best way with Edward. He brooded but he got through it, mostly. But as the silence stretched and my own thoughts drifted, I remembered back to that time – to the communal hunts (the good ones), to the thrill of the chase alongside my sisters, to the adrenaline spiking my blood into a rushing frenzy, to the final beautiful kill…

"Do you think…" I started, then remembered his brooding and stopped.

Where he sat at my side, he looked down at me. "Go on."

"Is… is it possible that I may be able to go hunting again, with you?" The question was out before I really thought it through, then I was backpedalling. "I mean, I know that you, Jasper and Emmett go hunting for my food for me and I'm grateful, really grateful that they do, but I miss being able to do it for myself, there's just something about the hunt that I miss and I…"

"You'd prefer to hunt your own prey?" he said, and I couldn't make out the tone of his voice, it was even and flat and _too_ controlled.

"Yes," I said simply. It was the truth. I shrugged.

"That's natural," he said, his voice still expressionless, "and a very vampiric trait."

"Mermaids are said to be the vampires of the sea," I added, at a loss for words. Was he upset or not? "It's something that was said while I was in the colony."

"Yes, you've said that before. And I can see how that description came about…" His voice trailed away, his eyes so unfathomable now that I could not control the urge to say, "I think that we're more alike now, you and I, after my change than we have ever been."

Silence. He didn't say anything to that; he just went very quiet, watching me.

"You wish me to take you into the sea to hunt?"

I nodded, eyeing him warily.

"You don't wish to go hunting sharks, do you?"

"No!" I gasped, shocked. "Once was more than enough."

"Good, because I don't think I could stand to watch one come anywhere near you." His eyes darkened once again, his voice taking on a dangerous low quality. "My vampire instincts would take over, it would be dead before it could swim within a mile of you. I won't have any fish, however big, biting my mate."

I swallowed, hard. Had he ever called me that before? If he had I did not remember it, nor had I ever heard him speak with such and intensely possessive edge before.

Then his gaze brightened drastically and he smiled. "If that is what you wish, love, I will happily take you hunting sometime in the future," he grinned, boyishly, "it's a date."

"A date," I agreed vaguely, still overcoming the whiplash of his mood-change.

"Of course we will have to travel to the east coast, it will be safer there."

"Sure," I agreed, surprised this was so easy, "I'm good with that." I didn't want Mara or any of the others getting too close to Edward and I could tell that he was worried about them getting too close to me too. But the east coast? We could manage that!

The atmosphere lightened again after that and we spoke and laughed about other things until he eventually rose and offered me his hand to lead me back to the house. The moon was at its pinnacle now and the stars twinkled above – it must have been near midnight.

I grinned to myself as I leant into his side and nuzzled close. Tonight had been so needed, just the two of us, alone, getting back to us. His arm wound about my waist and I leaned into him as we walked – me stumbling, he gracefully righting my steps with his hands on my hips. He lifted me over a fallen log and manoeuvred me carefully around any rocks in our path, saying little, until the lights of the house came into sight.

Dinner, a moonlit walk, his jacket, flowers…

Tonight had been almost like a date. I smiled at the thought. It was probably as close as we could get to one right now – what with me not being able to go out in public. As I watched Edward's face as we walked, relaxed and calm, I realised that that's exactly what it was.

I pulled him to a stop, taking my hand from his to sign. "_Thank you_."

"What for?" he smiled, looking perplexed.

"_For this. It's been a while since I've felt like a normal teenage girl. This, it's great_."

I took his hand again, deciding from then on to use clicks rather than sign – I much preferred my hand to remain in his, where it belonged.

The smile he bore then was winning. But it did not last. When we reached our bedroom it morphed into something different, something baser. The air around us seemed to crackle and heat and the spark I had been feeling all night long returned with force. Perhaps it was the change of setting, perhaps it had just built, whatever the case it was a presence all its own. And it would not be ignored.

When he closed the door, leaning back against it, our eyes met, and slowly, ever so slowly, I rose on tip-toes to kiss his marble lips. He allowed it, going further and adding his own delicious pressure in return.

There were no words, we needed none. I dropped the violets and as one we moved back and fell onto the bed.

He twisted to take the fall and I landed gracelessly on top of him. I started to giggle at my ridiculousness and then I saw his eyes on my lips; they were darker than they had been at any other point tonight, onyx black and hungry. He licked his own. My body trembled in response and I fell quiet again.

Who kissed who then I could not tell. It was all movement and instinct and need and want. Want… What did I want? Him!

My lips attacked his as his attacked mine. My breaths grew hectic, my hands erratic. Everything was heat and beautiful cold and hard-soft skin beneath my roving fingertips.

His shirt fell away, more easily than it should have – not that I was complaining – exposing the full beauty of his torso to my greedy gaze. We had gotten this far before, while I still slept in my room at Charlie's, and I wondered how much further he would let us go now.

I think he meant to be gentle, but my shirt ripped like tissue paper in his unsteady hands, the buttons popping until all of my front was bared to him, including my sapphire blue bra that was trimmed with black lace – at least I'd picked well, not knowing that it would be on display and all. The urge to cover myself surged forward. Yet somehow, beneath those adoring amber eyes, I lost the will to be embarrassed and just focussed on him, and his lips.

We twisted, and suddenly he was hovering above me as I lay splayed beneath him on the pillows, like an offering. Pressed length to length he held himself so that I could feel him none of his weight. But I wanted to feel it, I wanted him closer, I wanted-

"Do you remember the last day we spent in our meadow?" Edward breathed, his cold breath hot against my skin, "I told you then that I didn't want to stop." His voice was unsteady too, rougher than I had ever heard it. His eyes bored into mine, intense and dark. "I don't now."

His dizzying gaze made it so hard to form words, but somehow I managed.

"W-what about the wedding?"

"We can still have it, if you wish." His face dipped, his nose running tortuously along my neck and up, making my eyes flutter as his lips found my ear. "But I don't want to hold back from you any longer. I've already come so close to losing you so many times, I…" He paused, breathing hard. He moved slightly, angling down so that he could lay his cheek against my chest – right up against my vitally beating heart. I could feel his exhalations where our skins met, they were faster and not just from our kisses. He was growing anxious.

Reaching down I pulled his face up to see. He moved reluctantly, but allowed it. His expression was agonised and all I could do was cradle his cheeks and smooth back the mop of bronze hair from his brow. He swallowed hard, his eyes returning to mine.

"I've come to realise that no matter how hard I try, no matter how vigilant my efforts are, I run the risk of losing you every single moment of every single day." He shook his head. "Life is not limitless, even for immortals. And I do not want to spend it waiting anymore."

Eyes closed, he gently moved up and pressed his forehead to mine and whispered words that set my heart thundering. "I don't want to wait anymore, even for a wedding."

His eyes opened and burned down into mine, flames practically leaping from them to add to the inferno within my own skin.

"Then don't," I whispered. My voice came out as a barely audible wisp, but it was clear enough for him.

His lips were on mine before I could catch my breath. They pressed down, firm and gentle and _determined_. He meant this, he really meant this. Oh, were we actually going to…

Finally!

His hands were on my arms, pushing away the ribbons of tattered fabric as I tried to keep my lips on any part of his skin that I could reach. He was shaking, even I could feel that, I was too – the emotions were too heady, too strong, too big for us both.

"Bella," he moaned. Moaned! And pressed me back into the cushions as his lips moved to my neck and lower, to the new valley of skin leading to my chest.

I lay there, panting, willing to get lost in him… when an odd sensation prickled my mind, almost like a sharp pinch.

The haze Edward was creating dispelled a little, and irritated I pushed the pinch aside to refocus on the motion of his lips – so soft and hard, velvet over marble. He hovered over me, his eyes twin torches in the dark, allowing me to feel his weight but carefully holding most of it back. His tongue ventured out, exploring new territory, coaxing my lips to open for him.

They did, willing. This was new! He was usually too careful to-

The pinching sensation in the back of my mind grew, now more like a tickle but with no physical form.

_Bella?_

I almost growled, irritation clouding my desire-fogged mind. Interruptions right now were not welcome! Edward's chest rumbled in return, giving voice to its own growl – he must have been responding to mine. The thought made my hands rise to weave into his hair, scraping, scratching, pulling him closer. The cold heat was building and-

-The tickling _worsened_ until it obscured my thoughts. _Bella…? _

My movements slowed as something intangible tugged me away from my hazy cloud, back to earth. Edward sensed the change and he pulled back to watch me, confused. Above me, his eyes pierced into mine, as black as any animals.

"Love, what's wrong?" he said, his voice more unsteady than I had ever heard it, a deliciously husky grate.

I shook my head. I had no answer to give him. I didn't know what this feeling _was_! Why had I stopped? What was that tickling? It almost felt familiar.

His shoulders slumped and he sighed very softly, as if reining in disappointment.

"Love," he said, drawing away, "if you aren't ready for this, that's okay. You can tell me-"

I growled, angry beyond words, and Edward actually looked startled, even more so when I pulled him back to me and reclaimed his lips… though he willingly picked up exactly where we had left off. His eager hands clutched at my hips, pulling my closer, pressing-

_Is that you? Can you hear me?_

The voice was tangible presence in my head now.

Edward froze in that instant. I opened my eyes in time to see his gaze sharpen and snap up to the glass wall of his room – the one that overlooked the forest. At the same time I heard footsteps outside, stumbling through the undergrowth. Her thoughts became clear then, defined and focused and close. And they sounded amused… _Bella, what are you doing?_

I bolted upright, dislodging Edward. _Riana!_

…

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the great reviews from last week. :) **

**A/N: you guys know I'm quite good with weekly updates buuuut those ominous end-of-the-month deadlines are really starting to hound me now and I need to get cracking. :s So I don't know when I'll get the next bit to you. Wish me luck, hopefully I'll have a nice juicy update for you sooner rather than later. :) **


	43. Chapter 43 - Unexpected Reunions

**Thanks for all of your great support: the fols/favs/reviews, as always. Nemma :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 43: Unexpected Reunions – BPOV

On the back lawn stood a _full-legged_ Riana, with a halo of vivid red hair tangled with twigs an leaves hanging about her face and sparking green eyes full of mischief and relief, and beside her, bouncing on the balls of her feet, was the little blond Kali. Both wore bedraggled clothing stained with grass and dirt. I was stood at Edward's windows but it took less than a second for me to scrabble away, out of the door, and head down the stairs. But at the bottom Edward's hand snagged my arm, pulling me around to face him.

"Bella?" he said, worry in his topaz eyes. "Are they…?"

"Good ones," was all I said, and then I added, "taken, like me." He deserved a better explanation but I was too pumped to focus. With a wary nod he let my arm go.

As soon as I reached the kitchen door, slow on stumbling feet with Edward at my heels, I bolted outside to greet them. I ran, they ran. And we collided like a trio of cackling harpies on the grass, our strange echoing laughter filling the night air.

"We found you! We found you!" Kali burst in a series of staccato clicks, far too excited as Riana engulfed me in an exuberant hug. And soon we were jabbering excitedly away in Mermish, like high-school girls or squawking seagulls. The series of tonal clicks overlaid one another until it was hard for even _us_ to distinguish the words, but the mental imagery helped. Through our telepathic link we projected our thoughts and feelings and images. Little of it could be constituted as 'words' of any form, it was more like a silent movie reel…

_Riana darting amidst black tangles of seaweeds, dodging men with nets in the boats above…_

_A tank's wall; glass so smooth and firm to the touch, a crystal cage…_

_A sea-turtle swimming over the colony's entrance – How pretty!_

_Feral eyes gleaming in the dark; a mermaid snarling at her captors… _Was that me?

_You, yes, I watched from the outer bay. Too far… too many…_

Helplessness_…_

_Alice holding me close; her touch gentle and cool… Edward's velvet caress and burning eyes… Esme plucking grit and scales from my wounds… Emmett holding a crab…_

_Kali with legs! Riana feeling the tingle of retracting scales… The shore they sat on was dark and unfamiliar, trees swayed and the wind whistled. So alien. _

_Riana, wobbling on unsteady legs, scaling a mound of loose pebbles and rock; Kali following as they stumbled in the dark… searching… listening… for the calls of their sister…_

_Me, you came on land to look for me?!_

_Of course, Bella! We had to find you._

_The Cullen house: white and imposing and silent in the dark. From a window my face appeared. Then we were running, all running to meet at the same point, Edward at my back._

All thought converged…

In our excitement the images flashed and darted, skittering from one to another with no rhythm or order. Mine mingled with theirs and they considered a few and projected them back in query. Oh, how I had missed this connection, how I had missed the ease with which mermaids could speak without words. I eagerly projected my own imagery back.

We were so absorbed, that I didn't originally notice Edward's shock.

"Bella!" he gasped and I twisted to face him. "You…" he gulped, restarted, "you can communicate with each other… _telepathically_?"

Oh, it only occurred to me then that I had never actually covered this with him.

"That's why your voice-boxes are so, err," he struggled for a word, "coarse?"

I grinned, nodding eagerly. Probably.

Only then did I notice Riana and Kali's growing disquiet. In the dark their green-sheened eyes surveyed Edward as they both regarded him warily. Each projected an image of him back to me, with a clear sense of curiosity and caution – a question in their minds.

They wanted to know if he was a threat.

My grin widened and I projected an image of me and Edward back to them, overlaying the picture with an overwhelming sense of security and love.

"This is Edward," I clicked out loud in our own tongue.

_Your vampire…? _Riana thought.

"Yes, Riana," Edward responded to her directly, holding out a hand. "I am Bella's fiancé."

Warily, Riana accepted his hand and shook it, not once flinching at the coldness of his touch – it would match her own, of course.

Once the shock subsided, Riana remembered that Edward could, in fact, read minds. Then something in her thoughts seemed to click. She thought of what she had heard from me as she had arrived, my sense of self that had drawn her… and how I was feeling at that time.

Heart pounding, frantic touches, Edward's growl. I flinched and grimaced.

_What we you doing when we arrived?_ she asked slowly; eyes narrowing, lips quirking.

The blush reddened my cheeks and her smirk broadened.

Thankfully Kali broke the awkwardness. She clicked, delighted to finally meet Edward face to face and bounced on her new feet. She had thought when Mara kept her at home that she would never so much as see a vampire with her own eyes – and now here he was. Here!

Hopping in front of Riana, she grabbed Edward's hand and shook it heartily.

"Kali, Kali, Kali!" she clicked.

"Hello." He bestowed her with his most winning smile, the kind that left most girls dazzled. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Kali, is it?" She grinned, dimpling her cherub cheeks.

Riana was more cautious, recalling all too clearly the events of First Beach and how the men there had set about attacking our kind. She wondered where Edward had been during that time. She wondered if any of those men were close… she would grab Kali and run if need be.

_Is there danger here?_ She wondered, more to herself than anyone else.

"No," Edward said, "I assure you, you are safe here. No werewolves cross these lands without our permission, or my knowledge, and as for the rest of my family, they are away from home for the time being, though none of them would harm you without reason."

_This house is safe_, I assured her. _I would let no harm befall my sisters_.

That did seem to set her mind at rest and her tense muscles eased.

"So," Edward began, "you are friends of Bella?"

_Her sisters_, they responded in unison. _Bella is kin_.

At that my grin broadened. And Edward noticed.

"Then any family of Bella's is family of mine, you are very welcome here."

Edward was being very cordial, but I was almost desperate to hear about how they had come here. How had they crossed the land this far? The sea was miles to the west. How had they found me? How did they have legs? …Did they know that could happen to us on land?

They sensed the direction of my thoughts. I was too unused to hiding them after so long away from their company. But both were a little reluctant to venture down that path just yet. From them I sensed both wariness and exhaustion. How long had they been travelling?

"Would you like to come in?" Edward offered, ever the gentleman as he gestured to the house. "You can sit down, and we have fresh fish and seaweed."

They nodded, gratitude pouring from them as they followed us in on wobbling legs – so I wasn't the only one who had trouble then? How long had they been practising?

Once inside, they trudged into the living room and collapsed onto one of the big white sofas. Only then did I notice their state of attire. Kali wore a dress that was about three sizes too big for her and hung from one shoulder. Riana wore a too-long shirt of masculine design with the sleeves rolled up, and jeans that hung awkwardly from her curvy frame. And both of their feet were near-black with dirt and smattered with cuts. Mud and red smeared the carpet.

Oops, I'd have to sort that later, before the others got home.

Edward vanished into the kitchen as they settled on the sofa. Soon he was back and plying them with eagerly accepted refreshments. After the haddock, muscles, crab, kelp, and three glasses of water, their energy seemed to spike, the light returning to their eyes. They must have been famished.

"Would you like anymore?" Edward asked kindly, "Perhaps more drinks of water?"

_We are sated, thank you_, Kali projected, enjoying the telepathic link. She so rarely liked to speak above water, I recalled. Hearing my point, she grinned. _Words are for Land-walkers_.

Again, my mind wondered – how had they gotten here? Though I asked nothing of them, too conscious of their tiredness, they heard me anyway.

"We will tell you," Riana clicked aloud. "I think it best that we cover that first."

As Edward sat at my side, taking my hand in his lap, Riana played out for me how, in the aftermath of the First Beach blood-bath, she had come across Kali, hovering in the deep. So she had followed us. Mermaids flitted in all directions, insensible, deranged with blood-thirst and fear, and Kali had not known what was going on, or what to do. Not wanting to leave her, but desperate to go back for me, Riana had grabbed her hand and towed her to the far end of First Beach – away from the men with boats – until the worst of it was over.

Then, together, they had vainly begun to scan the shores for me. They'd had to remain hidden and quiet, so it took time. Believing the worst, they began to check all of the mermaid bodies they could find. There were many. None had been me but as their search progressed they began to understand that not all of the leggy human corpses they had disregarded were in fact human.

Some were known. The revelation was staggering. _So they hadn't known_.

The mermaids that had been hauled onto land during the battle, away from the water's safety, had reverted to their human forms – just like I had when I had fallen in the forest. They couldn't be sure if this had occurred prior to death or as a result of it.

That was when Riana had heard the commotion of my capture and looked up to see me practically wrestling with the wolves before being hauled away in that glass tank.

With nothing else they could do for me, they waited, patrolling and watching the shores carefully, being sure not to get too close to any humans who could do them harm.

Curiosity soon got the better of them though and they were eager to try land-walking. The possibility of once again walking on two legs was both intimidating and terrifying. After all, both had been daughters of the sea for years and had forgotten what it was like to feel dry sand and gritty pebbles between their toes.

I could empathise, to an extent. Even though I had not been removed from the land as long as they had, the sudden change in atmosphere was incredibly distressing.

So, after a few days had passed and it was once again quiet, and the mermaids and the humans and the wolves had settled somewhat, Riana and Kali had returned to the shore. Not wanting to be too close to the Quileutes – but not too far from where I might be – they had decided to go to the quieter bays to the South. There they had spent several days, attempting to return to land and find my trail. They always waited until night, when human activity was at its least, and one at a time they had hauled themselves up onto the sands.

Riana went first, purposefully beaching herself. She stressed to Kali that she was to remain in the water and if anything went wrong she was to return to the colony, immediately. Kali had been very scared; near terrified of what could happen to Riana. She did not want to lose another sister. But as they waited, and Riana's tail began to dry, the change had taken place almost instantaneously, and they were shocked at its simplicity, how easily it had occurred and with so little pain. It had kind of tickled. Riana tried to convey the pins-and-needles like sensation she had felt; the prickling that had encompassed her whole tail as it had split into separate legs and the scales had retracted. I was all too familiar with what she described.

When it had worked, Kali had practically leapt from the waves in her eagerness, but Riana refused to let her try – she wanted to check the shore for danger first. The second Riana had dragged her legs up beneath her and pushed to stand, she had fallen flat on her face, in much the same graceless way that I had, but in my lucky scenario Edward had prevented a full-face plant into the ground. Riana had gotten a mouth full of sand.

It took time. After many hours and several suns Riana was eventually able to stand properly. Her progress was stunted by fear; Riana made many quick returns to the water if either of them heard an ominous noise or suspected that they were being watched. They didn't return to land after such frights for many hours, sometimes days, and never once when the sun was up.

The first time Riana had stood up properly had been with Kali's support – as much as she could offer from the shallows, where she had reached out a hand to steady Riana's legs. It had been awkward, as they had found that any level of water above the ankles would trigger the change and the scales would begin to form again. They also discovered that once the transformation was initiated there was no way to stop it until it had run full-course. So, Riana had essentially been alone in her efforts.

They spent days on the beach, Riana simply lying down while she and Kali worked her legs, attempting to build up their muscles and their strength. It had all been worth it in the end, and soon after Riana had stood alone she was walking… then running.

_Wind whistled through hair… the sounds of sea and birds and insects… exultation… _

Kali became quickly jealous at Riana's antics, at how much she enjoyed herself, so Riana had had to return to her and the whole process had begun again. With Riana's support Kali had been able to gain her land-legs more swiftly, and soon they were both stumbling about.

_Two girls, laughing and leaping as they sprinted… the breeze caressing their skins…_

All_ of their skin…_

A sense of embarrassment suddenly emanated from Riana's thoughts as she remembered that Edward too was listening to this internal telepathy. He read her clearly and although he studiously turned his face away, her blush still covered her cheeks.

_There_ was the modesty that had been lacking as a mermaid. It was nice to know that I was not the only one to experience the embarrassment of sudden nudity – at least they hadn't had an audience. By contrast, Kali seemed to possess no sense of modesty at all. The idea of humiliation did not once cross her mind. Probably because she had gone without clothes for much longer than Riana had.

"So, clothing was a major problem," Riana clicked, reverting to speech. "We knew well that we could not walk into Forks in our birthday suits. We were _trying_ to be subtle."

"You seem to have managed though," I commented, plucking at her dirty sleeve.

Kali leant around her, grinning at me. "Luck," she clicked.

"We struck gold, in a sense," Riana said with a slight smirk, "when we happened across a couple in the woods. Well, we happened across their _clothes_, strewn throughout the trees and across the bracken, eventually we came across their owners tangled together on a blanket."

Unfortunately, they reverted to mental imagery then and as soon as I saw the memory in Riana's head I recognised the pair. It was Mike and Jessica, stark naked. And Riana supplied a very _detailed_ image. _Eew!_

_Too much information!_ I scrunched up my face while Edward cringed and grimaced.

"It's bad enough that I had to hear those fantasies of his for the last half of the school year," Edward sighed. "I thought now that we had graduated I was free of them."

I guess I was now getting a taste of what he had to handle on a daily basis. Poor Edward.

Riana laughed at our responses. She had covered Kali's eyes as soon as she saw the pair and hauled her away. Kali had been giving her grief over it ever since, wondering why. Riana found it funny that I'd had the complete opposite reaction.

That had been earlier this very night and Riana was still holding onto an almost vindictive type of pleasure. The pair may still be wondering in the woods in search of their clothes, and she wondered with amusement what they would do when they did not find them.

"So much for searching for me," I muttered wryly. Wasn't that what Mike and Jess were supposed to be doing?

"So, how long have you been on land?" Edward queried – quickly diverting. "I know how hard it was for Bella to walk a few feet after several days away from water and many attempts. The trek to Forks from La Push is a long one on foot. It must have taken you days."

Riana nodded knowingly. She half-wondered how I had coped being away from saltwater for so long but she did not query, saving the question for later. Instead she continued with her mental retelling.

_We soon realised that we could not go long on land without saltwater. Our limbs began to dry out, our skin began to flake, and Kali developed a fever._

_You did too! _Kali objected with a scowl, disliking the implication that she alone was weak.

_Yes, I did too_. Riana smiled fondly at the young one. _So we remained close to the sea, close to water_. She reverted again to mental imagery. Over time they had collected containers; washed-up plastic bottles mainly. Kali had found a faded Daffy Duck lunch-box which she still now clutched. In these they placed their supply of saltwater, but soon found that it was impractical and difficult to carry so many flasks using their arms alone.

They eventually acquired ruck-sacks – which hung from their backs – and other items to supply their trek, all of which they'd pilfered from unsuspecting campers. The last items had been Mike and Jessica's clothes.

I was starting to worry about Riana's morals, or lack thereof. She was training Kali (rather effectively) to live a life of crime.

_And then_, Riana continued, ignoring that comment, _as we were roaming deeper into the woods, following the river as far east as we had dared to go yet, we suddenly _heard_ something through the trees_.

The memory hit hard and fast. Riana held up her arm to stop Kali as she listened. The telepathy was strong, definitely a sister; thick with emotion and need and want and… Oh.

The blood rushed to my cheeks once again. They really _had_ heard me and Edward. Perhaps they didn't understand the mess of thought, but then I was Bella Swan – I didn't have that kind of luck. When I looked back up, Riana only grinned, a sly slow smirk.

Kali frowned. _So what were you doing when we arrived at your home?_

_So innocent_, Riana shook her head, _so oblivious_. _You would not believe that she is the oldest of us_.

Kali's frown deepened. _What?_

"Well, you ladies must be weary," Edward said, moving to rise. He had been sat in an armchair nearby while we three had taken the sofa.

The retelling had exhausted them, he was right, though his timing in bringing it up was to be commended. As he stood, Kali yawned hugely. And Riana nodded.

Edward, ever the gentleman, graciously offered them each a bed (I wasn't sure whose, I didn't think Rosalie would be too happy if it were hers) but they hesitated, a little scared. Neither had slept in a bed in so long that it was alien to them, and I got the sense that the idea was painful to Riana – it reminded her too much of when she was human. Kali too was tense, and she eyed the living room floor with longing, thinking of smooth rock-faces against the sandy sea-bed. Thankfully, Edward could hear it all; even conscious desire.

"One moment," he said.

No sooner had their thoughts surfaced than Edward had flitted out of the room and returned a second later with a mass of blankets. Neither seemed shocked at his vampire speed; they had seen it all before in my mind, and he knew that.

Kali could not have been happier. She giggled in our strange echoing way as Riana and I took the load from him and began to unravel and spread them out across the spacious floor, taking a moment to move the central glass table to one side of the room. Edward darted out several more times, on each occasion returning with more blankets, quilts and pillows until we had created a squishy mess of cushiony material that was as comfy as any bed. Riana stood back to survey our work, hands on her hips.

"It's no dark dank sea-tunnel but it'll do," she announced with a smug click.

"By all means, please make yourselves comfortable," Edward gestured.

_Thank you_, Kali projected. _We will_.

Riana flopped down on the pile, stretching her hands across the expensive silks and marvelling at the luxurious textures, completely at ease. By comparison, Kali hopped into the centre as if it were a bouncy-castle. She may have been older than us in some ways but in most she was still a kid. I guess it was hard not to be, being trapped in the body of a nine year old. I wondered, as I often did, who had had the audacity to turn her at so young an age.

Mara, of course. That woman had a lot to answer for.

Edward's hand rested gently on the base of my back, and in that moment I was reminded that our evening alone had been interrupted. He had borne this interruption with manners and fortitude, but now, while they slept, I could be alone with him once again.

His eyes watched me closely, as if searching for what I wanted.

Just as I was about to voice my request Kali grabbed my hand and yanked me down into the nest – she sleepily projected that she wanted me to remain close by. I followed suit by pulling Edward down with me.

"I don't think…" he muttered as he allowed himself to be drawn close.

Riana was to the far right, Kali in the middle, and I on the left. Edward crouched on the edge, looking uncomfortably out of place. But when I placed a finger to his lips he relaxed.

"_This may not have been the night we had expected_," I silently hand-signed, "_but I am determined to end it in the way we planned: together, in each other's arms_."

He needed no more prompting than that. As the girls settled into their own little nests, he pulled me close and allowed me to rest my cheek against his silent heart.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he whispered.

It was only as I was falling asleep, my eyelids drooping, that I remembered something important: the rest of his family was due to return home before the morning.

… 

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the great reviews from last week - it was nice to read them while I had to do real work, lol. :) **

**By the way, does anyone know what happened with twilighted? Several chapters of SS got deleted there and I noticed the same happened with other people's stories too. **


	44. Chapter 44 - New Guests

**Thanks you all for your great support: the fols/favs/reviews. I try to message you all to thank you personally for taking the time to write, however, I can't for guest reviewers. So here's a shout-out to all of those who have sent their encouragement, including fandomfanatic last week – Thank you! Your support means so much. Nemma x**

**Feel free to PM me if you have any questions – that way I can answer back. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 44: New Guests – BPOV

At some point during the night, whether consciously on my part or not, I fell into an easy sleep on the makeshift living room blanket-bed beside my sisters; the three of us wrapped in each other's arms. I was snuggled close to Riana's side, my head on her torso, while Kali used my stomach as a pillow. Edward had silently risen and left, only pausing long enough to stroke my cheek as I sleepily protested. My murmurings were soon lost to slumber.

I only stirred once, when quiet mutterings broke my sleep. I realised belatedly that the others must have returned from their hunt but I didn't have the energy to open my eyes. Perhaps the others' exhaustion had somehow transplanted to me through our mental link.

"Where did they come from?" Esme whispered, her voice soft and surprised. "Are there any more of them?"

"Great," Rosalie huffed, "we're going to be overrun at this rate."

Edward hushed her quietly. "No, there are no more of them, just these two girls. They wandered out of the woods calling for Bella at around midnight. Apparently, they've been searching for her since she was taken from the sea. They had a tough journey getting here, judging by their thoughts, and were very hungry and tired."

"You didn't offer them a bed, Edward?" Esme objected. "They could have had ours."

"Of course I did, Esme, but the idea of using a bed made them uncomfortable. They preferred the floor; it reminds them of the seabed, apparently."

Carlisle whispered, "They spoke to you?"

Emmett's chuckled quietly. "Managing to put those Mermish skills to further use, eh?"

"Yes." It sounded like Edward was smirking. "Carlisle, it's extraordinary. I don't think I'd have seen it if I hadn't met more of them, but…" He seemed to pause for dramatic effect, "they communicate, _principally_, by using telepathy. It's amazing, they can share: images, memories and feelings. It's so complex, multi-layered. That's why their vocabulary is _so_…"

"Deficient," Rosalie added, a little scornfully.

"_Basic_," Edward said, somehow managing to admonish her with the word, "Because they don't need to use words. Words are for Land-walkers."

I almost smiled at that phrase: _words are for Land-walkers_. It was Kali's.

"That's quite an interesting quirk," Carlisle commented, "and I guess you're right, you never would have discovered it if you knew Bella alone. What with her mind being the way it is."

Jasper spoke quietly then. "I wonder why her mind blocks yours but not theirs."

There was a sigh from Edward. "I've been wandering that myself. At the risk of sounding like the teenager I am – it's not fair. And even with their thoughts converging I still cannot read Bella specifically, just whatever she… projects… I suppose that's the word, to them. The other two's minds are crystal clear like any other humans or vampires. Bella's however, is still as blank to me as it has ever been. I only catch glimpses from her when the other two search her thoughts, just foggy snippets. But then, that's more than I ever thought I would hear from her." He sounded like he was smiling by the time he'd finished speaking.

There was a smile in Carlisle's voice too. "It sounds like you've had an interesting night, son."

"I'll say," Emmett said, "we leave you with one girl and come back to find you with three. You've established a harem in our absence, brother." He chuckled quietly and Jasper joined in with a snigger. "No wonder you wanted the night alone."

Next came Edward's half-amused half-exasperated sigh. "I don't appreciate the insinuation, Em, especially when one of them is still a child."

"That one _is_ very young," Esme added soberly.

"Her name is Kali. She's older than Bella from what I can gather. I can't be sure _how_ old exactly, she seems to have lost track of time in the ocean."

"Older?" Carlisle questioned. "So she is ageless? Frozen?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from someone as Edward said, "It appears so."

"Then that means that Bella…" Carlisle did not finish the statement and Edward did not respond aloud. I assumed he nodded. It was a clear thing really.

"And the red-head?" Esme asked, breaking the silence.

"She is Riana," Edward paused uncertainly for a moment, before hesitantly adding, "She's the one who took out the first boat at First Beach – I saw it in her memories."

Jasper spoke then. "I remember her from the missing person posters from Seattle. We assumed she was another victim of Victoria's army, apparently we were wrong."

"Bit of a fiery temper then?" Alice quizzed.

"You could say that…" Edward said, "but I think it was more to do with the blood in the water than their rage at the attack. Riana has very little control, she's still quite young and the younger ones have more trouble with the scent than the rest. Just like our own newborns. That's what I've gotten from her mind at any rate."

"But Bella's younger than her, isn't she?" Esme said. "I mean in terms of being turned. And Bella hasn't had trouble around humans."

"That's because we haven't exposed her to any yet, not really," Edward reminded her gravely. "And the wolves don't count. Their blood-scent is very different."

"Remember how she looked at that boy in the boat on Emmett's tape," Rosalie remarked quietly, "she looked at him like he was something to eat."

"We never even thought… I should have after seeing…" Carlisle murmured, sounding troubled. "But then, Bella seemed to be so much herself when she returned, except for the obvious physical differences, and even those are transitory. Not like a newborn at all."

"I didn't make the connection either, Carlisle," Edward reminded him, "or I refused to, I'm not sure which…"

"It looks like we've had a stroke of luck with this revelation then. Better to know now."

"On a brighter note, she hasn't asked for blood," Emmett said, ever the optimist.

"Yet," Rose added.

"Actually," Edward said, "from what I heard from Riana's thoughts Bella has displayed an intense aversion to blood. It still makes her nauseous, and while with them she avoided going on 'human' hunts. You remember the beach we came across that day Bella used the cell-phone to call here, of course. Well that was another mermaid's doing, someone called Lilith. Riana and Bella were with her but when Lilith tried to get Bella to… feed… she refused. The others took the kill away, and, according to Riana's thoughts, that's when Bella found the phone and called us."

While what he said was true, it was not entirely truthful. My sleepy mind lapsed into melancholy as I recalled the sweet scent of orange-blossom and camomile that had wafted from Mike's skin when I had come across his search party one day, and the way my eyes had been drawn to that boatman's neck at First Beach, the way his blood had _thrummed_. No, I was no exception. I was averse to the idea of _taking_ blood, but I was not averse to the blood itself. Not anymore. And he knew that too, I had told him after Emmett had found that tape. But I had made my choice not to partake of human blood, like Carlisle, Like Edward… like a Cullen. That thought relaxed me some and sleep tugged, lulling me under.

Carlisle quietly chuckled. "It sounds like you have learnt a lot from them tonight. I'd be very interested to…" His voice faded along with the soft press of footsteps. Had he and Edward left the room? No matter, I had my sisters to comfort me in sleep. They surrounded and warmed me, their soft breaths whispering in the still night air.

"The carpet is stained with blood and dirt," Rosalie commented, a little haughtily, "and they reek of seawater and mud."

"Then perhaps tomorrow you would be gracious enough to offer them the use of your bathroom, Rose," Esme lightly scolded. "I'll sort out the carpet now before they wake. And then we need to set up some more permanent living arrangements, should they wish to stay."

"I don't think they have anywhere else to go," Alice said sadly.

"Perhaps then you can collect together some clothes for them. And Emmett, dear? Would you please prepare the spare room for an extended stay?"

"Yeah, sure," he muttered quietly.

There was the soft swoosh of fabrics and then the room fell quiet once again, save for the slight stirrings of mermaids in sleep and the gentle rhythms of their hearts.

"Huh," Jasper said to the silence, "we're going to need a bigger fish tank."

… 

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the wonderful reviews/fols/favs so far. Nemma x **


	45. Chapter 45 - The Girls

**Thank you for all your supportive messages, they mean a lot! Nemma x**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 45: The Girls – BPOV

Esme awkwardly pulled the quilt up my arm, covering as much exposed flesh as she could without covering the other girl's faces. I stirred and blearily blinked up with a smile.

"You're back." I glanced at the window. The sky was tinged pink. "What time is it?" I whispered around a yawn.

"Not yet dawn." She pressed her cold hand to my cheek. "Go back to sleep, dear."

It was too easy to comply, especially with the inviting warmth emanating from both of the girls to my left. Riana was close, snoring softly, while Kali curled onto her stomach. Her little arm stretched across the two of us as she slept, as if even in sleep she feared losing us.

It was some hours later when I roused again, and this time the sun was high and light flooded the living room. The mound of blankets we had slept on was a mess, and I was alone.

The heart-warming smell of freshly collected weeds and oyster-shells floated in from the kitchen and as I yawned, stretching and clambering up, I followed the inviting scents.

As I reached the doorway, I heard voices too – clickish mermaid ones.

"Yeah, yeah," Kali said. "I've been at the colony for many suns, more than Riana."

They were seated at the large granite work-top that dominated the centre of the kitchen and each had a platter of various sea-goodies in front of them, which they both appeared to be demolishing with gusto. As I watched, Kali snagged a length of weed and slurped the lot.

"Manners," Riana lightly scolded, though she was eating swiftly enough herself.

They must have been very hungry.

"Many suns… how long is that?" Esme responded with perfect enunciation, and I was glad that our dictionary had progressed so much more in the past few days. Rosalie stood casually at her back, and as Esme spoke she leant forward as if in anticipation of the answer.

Riana shrugged. "Mermaids only distinguish time as sun-up and sun-down," she explained, "and by the temperature of the sea as seasons change. Human measurements of time mean little. I could not give you an accurate estimate on any time limit as I myself do not know. Bella may have a more accurate answer than I, as she was not turned so long ago."

I wondered what they were talking about, but did not want to interrupt their bonding.

"Bella, yes," Rosalie said, "you said she took issue with your blood-feeding?"

As Riana swallowed her oyster she nodded. "Because of it she was taunted by older mermaids, they thought her odd. Although, that maybe because they presented her with live victims from which to feed, and she refused-" She spotted me then, hovering in the doorway.

_Hey, you!_

I raised a hand in greeting as Kali clicked her own "hello".

"Good morning, dear," Esme was swift to collect another seafood-platter from the fridge. "Come sit and have breakfast. We're just getting to know your friends."

I took the offered seat and silently tucked in. The food was fresh and delightfully chilled, just the way my kind liked it. From Riana and Kali's thoughts I could tell that they approved of it too; all I could sense from them was satisfaction and gratitude.

"I'm sure that there is a great deal more that you can tell us," Esme went on, "you lead such interesting lives, but for now I will restrain my curiosity for the sake of your stomachs." She smiled kindly. "Perhaps, once you are done, we can show you around the house?"

"Oh, the water!" Kali gasped, her excitement bubbling – visions of the tank in her head.

"Yes, the swimming pool," Esme smiled.

_Swimming pool_, Kali tested the word in her thoughts, though neither of the vampires in the room could hear her. There was no equivalent in mermish.

"And then I can show you to your room," Esme continued, "Rosalie is going to show you to the bathroom so you can wash and refresh yourselves if you wish, and Alice, my other daughter, has prepared a selection of clothes for you to wear."

Riana silently touched the ragged shirt she now wore. Some of Mike's… odour… still clung to it, and suddenly she was very thankful for Esme's offer.

"That is most kind of you, mam," she clicked. "We are grateful for all you are doing."

"Think nothing of it. And please, call me Esme."

"Can we see this _swimming pool_, now?" Kali clicked.

"Of course," Esme stood, "if you are ready we can go outside."

Kali hopped from the stool and ran to grab Esme's hand. Esme looked startled for a moment, then stared at her fondly. Rosalie looked a little jealous as she followed. Riana too, rose to follow the trio outside, but at the kitchen door she looked back.

_You are blessed to have such a family_, she thought silently.

_I know. They mean a great deal to me_.

To that she only nodded, before walking away.

There was still a great deal to discuss. I knew it, and so did she. Even in her dreams the idea troubled her. But she was willing to discuss it, and that was what mattered.

…

Most of the day was spent showing the girls around the house. They marvelled at their spacious 'spare' bedroom; at the queen-sized four-poster and golden vanity. They revelled in Rosalie's bathroom and the size of its Jacuzzi tub (while Rosalie collected towels and Emmett showed them how to use the taps, having fun with the 'bubble-function'). And they gushed over the clothes Alice had laid out for them. They clicked and jabbered in mermaid-talk, overly excited with all that they saw. Riana was only now realising how much she had missed the land and to Kali this all seemed like a dream.

Their thoughts were very loud.

"Hey, kid," Emmett said as he strode out onto the back lawn, where I now lay soaking in the faint sunshine. "How are you holding up? This… err… reunion must be stirring up some memories, huh."

I was seated in their sofa-sized gazebo swing with my copy of _Withering Heights_. I hadn't really gotten into the book; I had been half-listening to the goings on around the house. Jasper and Edward were nearby, tweaking the filters on the tank, while Alice and Esme helped the girls settle in upstairs. Right now, Alice was helping Kali dress – the buttons had confused her. But as Emmett took a seat beside me, I set my book aside.

"_I guess_," I hand-signed.

"I'll admit, they are some interesting folks."

"_They are_." What was he getting at?

"You know, if you don't like them being here just say the word, we can easily 'peaceably' encourage them to return to the sea with no fuss to you." I arched an eyebrow and he shrugged. "If I'm going to be your big brother I may as well start acting the part."

"_I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm okay_." I smiled. "_They are the _good_ mermaids_."

He snickered a little, "The good _telepathic_ mermaids."

"_You heard about that?_"

"Surprised you didn't say about it before," he said, quickly, and I frowned.

"_It never came up_."

"Still," he rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little uncomfortable, "if you could mind-read like Edward, I would have thought that-"

"_Oh, no_." My eyes widened. "_No-no, it's _not_ like Edward!_" Wow, was that what he had thought? That I had been reading his thoughts all this time without his knowledge? No wonder he was being awkward. "_I – I mean _we_ – can only project thoughts and words at _each other. _I might be able to read _their_ minds to an extent, but not any of _yours."

"Oh," he seemed surprised, "wonder why that is?"

I shrugged. "_Maybe it's a mermaid thing_."

Emmett lay back next to me, his big arms swung haphazardly across the back of the swing while we simply watched the rest of our family. Jasper and Edward were debating over what type of screws to use now. Emmett and I never really spent that much time together, and I found now that it was odd, but not uncomfortable. It was actually kind of nice. Emmett was an easy person to get along with… when he wasn't teasing me.

"It's strange," I finally clicked, choosing to speak aloud. "It's been so quiet since I got back. _Not_ hearing the voices in my head."

"Err… not hearing voices in your head is a good thing, Bella."

Edward spoke then, "Hearing voices in your head isn't _always_ a bad thing, Emmett."

Apparently he and Jasper had finished with what they were doing. Edward grinned as he took a seat on my other side and pulled me easily into his lap while Jasper went inside – presumably in search of Alice. I placed a tender kiss on his cheek but as I pulled back I noticed a smear of black just below his messy bronze hairline. I touched it with a finger and when he saw my black fingertip, he laughed.

"Just been making some minor alterations to the filtration system," he said as he took a handkerchief from his jeans pocket and carefully wiped my hands clean, before swiping his head, "to make sure it can accommodate more… _people_… in the pool."

"Oh." That would be good for them, they'd enjoy the water.

"So hearing voices isn't always a bad thing, huh?" Emmett quizzed with an eyebrow raised. "And what were the voices in your head telling you to do, Bella?"

"Mostly to tear people's limbs off and drink their blood," I chirped, playing Emmett's game. Edward seemed shocked at what I'd said.

"My point is valid." Emmett grinned, folding his arms. "Oh, but of course, Edward hears voices in his head _too_," he said, as if with sudden realisation. "I guess that means you're both insane, practically made for each other."

"I like to thinks so," Edward whispered with a kiss behind my ear. He smirked, quickly adding, "Not the insane part, Emmett, the made for each other part."

For the next half hour, as the sky gradually darkened, Edward and I relaxed against each other, enjoying the simple peace. Emmett left us and went in search of Rosalie.

"_How are _you_ holding up?_" I eventually asked with my hands. "_This must be strange?_"

Having two new additions to the household, not to mention two new telepathic mermaid additions, must have been hard. And yet he had said nothing, offered no complaint.

"It is," he admitted with a sigh, "to be able to hear their thoughts, to be able to hear them _hearing_ each other's thoughts, and to hear you speaking to their thoughts…" he frowned, "but then, to still _not_ be able to hear you… it's… a little disorienting."

My eyebrow tilted, "Just a little?"

His head fell back against the sofa-swing and ever so slightly it rocked. "It's odd," he said, frustrated, "I can hear you, but only what you project to them or what they syphon from you. I still can't access your mind. It's as enigmatic as ever… though with this pair I certainly have greater access to it. It's like I got promoted and gained a higher level of clearance."

I frowned. "_I'm not too happy about that_," I signed. "_I never have been happy that they have such unrestricted access to my mind…_"

A tender kiss found my brow; Edward was always trying to soothe me.

"It must have been difficult living with that on a daily basis, not from just a couple of people, but many hundreds from what I hear. At least they try to keep away from your deeper thoughts. From what I hear they try to give you and each other as much privacy as they can."

"Yes," I admitted on a click, "they do try."

…

Everyone settled into the new situation with remarkable ease; all of the Cullens continued on with their lives as it were any other day: cleaning, working, sorting accounts and paperwork. In the evening, I joined Riana and Kali in the spacious pool. The dusk muted the sky with lilacs and yellows and in the half-light I simply enjoyed their company. It was almost a physical relief to get to re-know my sisters after being so long apart. Edward left us to it; giving us the time alone. I had voiced no such request but with him I never had to.

When dark finally did fall and the lights at the back illuminated the extensive garden, I left the pair in the pool and went to search out Edward. I had started to miss him. I found him in the rec-room watching over a chess-game between Jasper and Emmett.

"I have a question, Edward," Emmett said as I joined them. He moved a pawn. "How come you didn't work this telepathic thing out before? I mean, you were there with the rest of us at First Beach. You _must_ have heard their thoughts going back and forth."

"That's an interesting question, Em. I must admit, I was more focussed on _what_ they were thinking rather than _how_ they were thinking it. Plus, you have to consider that I was being swamped by everyone else's thoughts as well – the Quileute's and us vampires as well as the wolf-packs and the mermaids. It's quite a mix. And to be honest, what I _did_ hear from the mermaids wasn't very enlightening. They were so focussed on the people in the boats that they were very single-minded, each focussing on her own situation. There was so many of them that I didn't identify the blank-spot." He looked up meaningfully at me. "Not that I'd expected to find one. I honestly thought that you wouldn't be there."

That made me frown. "You didn't think that I might have been turned?"

"We had covered that possibility, so yes the idea had come up." The sigh he released then was deep and troubled. "It was better than some alternatives. But I thought that if that were so they would have kept you hidden, back in wherever they lived. I didn't think that they would have let you go to that meeting…"

Something seemed to occur to him then; something troubling.

"But you were there," he said slowly, "I've never asked before because you have had so much to deal with, but I've been curious… why did you not show yourself to us? I was there, at the shore, searching for you. I could understand you not coming onto land to look for me when you did not realise you could walk but… I was _there_, at the water's edge."

There was pain in his eyes; unmasked, raw and aching, and I didn't know what to say…

_Mara. _Riana silently lamented as she wandered up to my side.

Behind her, through the large pane of the window, Esme and Alice were playing with Kali in the tank. She giggled and splashed, oblivious to our conversation in her delight.

"Who is she?" Edward asked with a frown. "I've heard Bella speak of her before."

_Our colony leader, she… _Riana hesitated. _She was the one who took Bella. She turned many of us, and she…_ Her fingers twisted nervously in her new shirt. _She is very skilled, in a strange way; she has the ability to manipulate people into wanting things that they would not normally want. She can implant ideas and desires… such as wanting to remain in the ocean at all costs. I heard your thoughts that night, Bella. I heard you struggling to bypass it. But…_

Words failed her. And I gaped. Had it been so obvious? It was not to me.

"Mara kept me there," I clicked, "she got in my head and made me _not want_ to leave?"

That was more surprising than it should have been.

"Yes." Riana nodded wretchedly, reverting to mermish clicks as well, "And I'm sorry for the part I played in that too, for the time when I pulled you away from the beach after you called home. I only realised later that that was what I had done, of course, when you told me after the _first_ First Beach meeting. But had I known before I would have acted the same. I would have _made_ you come away, the same way Mara would have. I was afraid of what might have happened… Mara, she… she teaches us to be afraid of land-walkers."

"That seems bias," I muttered, still hovering in shock.

"She has her reasons," Riana said darkly, and a flash of a girl's bleeding face filled my mind; she was crying blood and tears. The image was gone as swiftly as it arrived, quickly stifled. "Not all of us lived so well among them, you know. You've led a rather sheltered life, even with your vampires and werewolves. You've not seen the darker side of humanity."

Edward was watching her now, golden eyes turning dark as they bored deep. I wondered if he could hear more than me, I wondered if I wanted to know what he heard… That girl's face had looked vaguely familiar. She had dark, almost black, hair…

Riana continued. "What I'm really surprised by is your ability to deflect her efforts."

I gasped. "I didn't seem to have that much power to do that. She still made me forget… she still made me want to stay in the ocean…"

"Yes," Riana clicked carefully, "but I have seen her use that on other reluctant girls in the past. It is usually much more effective. In them I have seen her manage to _erase_ the desire to leave. She erases emotion and ties and even those who love deeply…" She shook her head, as if in pity. "It vanishes. With you, though, that was not the case. She managed to squash it down for a time but it always came back to you. Colony Mothers have a very strong bond, a very potent link, with those that they turn. It goes beyond blood and venom and supersedes any other potential… err… _gifts_. It's supposed to supersede the control we have over our emotions too – that's how Mara wipes the slate clean, so to speak – but Bella, you seem to have overcome it again and again." She looked to Edward then, who was absorbing all this with a quiet frown. "Mara never could manage to stop her from loving you."

And then, she smiled slowly. "It might sound rather cheesy, but I think your love transcends that kind of manipulation."

My eyes found Edward then. He was watching me closely and as I reached out a hand to him and he pulled me onto his lap my smile was likely all kinds of gooey. Gently, he nuzzled my hair and the gooey smile only grew broader.

"Oh," Riana cringed theatrically, "that _did_ sound cheesy!"

Emmett laughed.

"Perhaps that is due to Bella's shielded mind," Jasper murmured thoughtfully. "Perhaps it gives Bella an edge, a greater resistance to supernatural forms of mind control."

"I don't know," Alice said as she joined us from the back-yard. Behind her, Esme was helping Kali to towel-dry. "I prefer the love-defying-all-odds theory, it's more romantic."

"_Cheeee-seeey!_" Emmett and Riana chorused, then looked at each other with matching grins, thick with comradery.

"You two are far too much alike," I clicked. Their grins widened.

"Riana," Edward said, drawing her attention, "there is something Bella and I have been wondering about and perhaps you can shed some light on it."

She gestured for him to continue.

"We have been wondering if there is any way Bella can be turned _back_."

The question seemed to hang in the air, heavy and oppressive.

_I do not understand_, she projected to me, eyeing me closing. _You have your legs. You can walk once again…_ The hanging implication was: what more could you want?

"Yes," Edward said slowly, "but Bella cannot talk as she once did, and the threat of the blood-thirst still hangs over her. She cannot see her parents or friends as she is now."

It was true, I missed my mom and Charlie… and Edward could not have failed to pick up on that. I knew I would inevitably have to leave them one day. I had planned to. But I had also planned to say my farewells. There had been no resolution yet.

Edward finished, "I think what Bella has been wondering is, is there a more _solid_ solution?"

Riana frowned; thoughtful yet troubled. This time she spoke aloud, for the benefit of all. "I am not sure… It is possible that she cannot be returned completely to her previous human form. But it is also possible that she may easily make the transition onto vampire."

"What?" I squeaked.

Around me I felt Edward tense too.

Riana shrugged. "From _there_ you could reclaim your normal speech."

"How do you know this?"I demanded. "Why have you never spoken of it before?"

My words were tight and thick with hurt. She sensed that too and held her hands up.

"I never meant to keep it from you. You just never asked. As for where I heard it… I may have eavesdropped a little on Kiera and Randall. I heard them speaking once in the tunnels. Kiera said she would like to able to wander the land one day at his side, and Randall said that with his venom it may be possible. He was willing to turn her at her request. Of course, that was before I knew that we could re-grow our legs… I wonder if Kiera knows."

"So I could become a vampire after all?" I clicked, wondering.

"Like I said, I'm not sure. You'd have to speak to Randall_._ He seemed to know."

"Hang on," Emmett held up a hand, "who is Randall?"

Riana answered blithely, "A vampire from our colony."

There was a stunned moment of silence. At my back, Edward had gone very still.

"…a vampire lives in your colony?" Emmett said. At Riana's nod, he slapped his thigh. "See, Jazz, I knew it could be done, and you said we couldn't live under the sea!"

Jasper shook his head, smiling. "I never said we _couldn't_ I just said I did not _want_ to."

"So," Emmett said, "this Randall guy-"

"-I know him!" Edward gasped. When I looked up his eyes were distant – listening to Riana's mind. "I mean _we_ know him. I recognise him in Riana's thoughts."

Her eyes widened, looking to me._ They've met our Randall before?_

I shrugged, as surprised as her.

I knew they had vampire friends. The Denalis were at the top of the list, and Jasper's friends Peter and Charlotte in the south, but I had not met any of them before myself. As I pondered, there was an electronic beep and Jasper left the room.

"He is a nomad," Edward explained. "Carlisle and I met him not long after Esme had been turned, before Rosalie and Emmett joined the family. We have not encountered him in many years. Apparently he has been leading a rather interesting life."

As he spoke, Carlisle flitted into the room, listening intently. He held an old tin-type; a vintage sepia-print photograph of a young man with dark hair and hard eyes.

"Yes," Riana clicked, as recognition sparked in me too, "that is our Randall."

At that moment, Kali and Esme joined us and she too leant up to look at the photo.

"That's the man who carried Bella home after the shark bit her," she quipped.

"What?" Edward gasped.

They replayed the memory for him, in much greater detail than I would have liked. When his face crumpled I barked and the images cut off abruptly. Both looked contrite.

"It seems I owe Randall a great debt," he muttered.

"We would have carried her home ourselves," Riana clicked defensively, then, feeling churlish, she swiftly added, "but we were grateful for his assistance. After that shark died from Bella's knife wound, there were others circling, he kept them at bay."

Kali added, "Perhaps _he_ can tell you how to safely change Bella."

She must have been listening earlier, I noted.

Rosalie was suddenly in front of me and Edward, her gaze intent.

"You don't have to now, though, right?" she said, "I mean, you aren't aging from what Riana has told me about your kind, so you don't have to became a-"

"-A Blood-crazed monster?" I quirked an eyebrow, "I think that ship has sailed."

Her frown was displeased. "But at least now you have more time to make the decision, if you wish. It's a large choice to rush into and it's irreversible. At least now you can take time to think on it without worrying about Alice trying to celebrate your nineteenth birthday."

"Oh," Alice chimed, "I'll get a party in somehow: human, mermaid, vampire… Bella's not getting away from it, so she better suck it up."

My narrowed eyes said it all. Alice just narrowed hers right back.

"A party!" Kali gasped. "Is Bella having a party? Oh, I haven't been to a party in…"

Memory failed her. Mermaids celebrated nothing, and the sole blurry image she possessed from her human years was aged at best. A pair of adult, I assumed were her parents, beamed at her as she sat before a cake with seven candles. Their clothes were vintage, possibly Edwardian.

"Would you like a party?" Alice asked, kneeling down to assess her new ally.

"Oh yes!" the child beamed.

Alice's smile grew smug, as if it were a done deal, and picked up Kali to place in her lap on the sofa. I was just about to point out that Kali would clearly enjoy a party designed by her infinitely more than I would, when Jasper returned to the room bearing a wad of papers.

"I've just heard through from Jenks," he said. "We found most of the information on you, Riana, from the Forks Police Department. Your last name is _Lefebvre_, correct?"

She nodded, warily, not liking that she had been 'searched'.

"Missing posters for you are still up there from October," he continued, apparently ignoring her wariness. "But we didn't find anything on you, Kali. What's your story?"

She beamed and straightened in Alice's lap, genuinely happy to be in spotlight.

"Kali is not my real name. That's why you found nothing. Mara named me when she turned me. My birth name is Rosalie Catherine Hale and I was born in Rochester, in 1935."

In the corner, Rosalie gasped.

… 

**So… what do you think? :) **

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the wonderful reviews so far. Nemma x **


	46. Chapter 46 - Mermaid Info

**Thank you for all your messages, again! You probably don't realise it, but sometimes they come at the best times. I got some disheartening news last week and it threw me off course for a while but you guys kept me going. I also got some good news – a magazine accepted 2 of my short stories, and one of my publishers contacted me with a release date for one of my books (a collaboration anthology of historic stories), it'll be July! So excited! Nemma x **

**If anyone is curious I've put links up on twitter: NemmaW (still learning how to use it). **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 46: Mermaid Info – BPOV

Kali shared her story with us. She was a little murky on the details as she had been so young at the time of her turning and it had been so long ago – longer than I had imagined. "Edwardian era," I said quietly, thinking on the memory she held. "No," Edward quietly corrected as Kali spoke, "Interwar era, I would say. The attire then was a little different." She told us that her parents were Madeleine Price and Jonathon Alfred Hale ("Rosalie's younger brother," Edward informed me on a whisper which Kali failed to hear). And she had lived with them in the family's grand estate in Rochester quite happily during what was essentially the Depression. In their tranquil little bubble, secluded away from the world, the family had prospered; continuing on with life mostly untouched by the general public's poverty.

"One week in mid-summer," Kali recited as she sat beside Alice, a little crease indenting her forehead, "Mama wanted to vacation on the coast, away from New York and its smoky streets – I can't remember where, I wasn't bothered with details back then." Judging by the grimace that crossed her face, she regretted that now. "But there was a big house, and its back porch opened up onto this enormous sandy beach. It was very pretty."

As she spoke I glanced fleetingly at Rosalie; she was rapt, a true marble statue, and beside her Emmett hovered nervously, eyeing his mate with concern.

The rest were no less nervous, though perhaps they concealed it better, and all of us had taken seats around the room as she spoke. I sat between Edward and Riana on the opposite sofa, listening along with them to the mental imagery she was projecting.

"I wandered there a lot, on that beach," Kail went on. "Mama always told me not to go far and often she sent Papa out after me. He would scoop me up and carry me back inside even though I wanted to look for more shells. It was too dark or too cold, that's what he usually said. Even at dinner times I never _wanted_ to come in, I always loved the sea…"

Her eyes glazed with her retelling, and in her head I saw a baron and windswept stretch of sand, untouched by garbage or pollution. Very serene, and cold.

"It was during the second week there that Mara first spoke to me from the shallows. She said she had been watching me for some time, since the family had arrived, and I was not to be afraid of her. Papa always told me not to talk to strangers but she said she would not harm me…"

A hand found its way up to her neck, reminiscing. And I remembered _my_ first meeting with Mara too. Blood and pain coloured Kali's thoughts; an ice-cold chill that spread from vein and flesh into bone.

"When I saw her tail I knew what she was. Mama had told me stories of mermaids and I thought her very pretty, very sparkly, her scales glistened in the sun. But when a storm rolled in her scales did not glisten so brightly, and when the sea turned choppy and the wind whipped my hair, beginning to howl, Papa called from the house for me to come inside. I had been on the rocks, talking to Mara, and I did not want to go in. But when he began to come and fetch me I grew frightened – I did not want to be scolded for not listening to him and miss dessert – so I hurried down from the rocks, only… they were very slippery… There were weeds and the wind tossed my hair into my eyes…" The frown she wore was serious as she tried hard to recall what had passed. "I fell, I think… I hit my head and tumbled into the churning blue water…" The frown cleared. "The last thing I remember is Father shouting my name, then I woke up with Mara."

She shrugged. "Since then I have not set foot on land, well not until _now_."

Gentle questions followed her telling, Carlisle and Esme probing for details, and even Alice quietly voiced the odd query. Kali answered easily, not at all troubled, and all the time Rosalie remained as still as stone. Concerned, I gave Edward a quiet nudge and inclined my head her way. He too was monitoring her closely, but all he did was shrug. Emmett was with her, standing sentinel at her side. He was the best support she could have right now.

"So," Carlisle said, "you were born in 1935?"

"1935, yes," she smiled. Then, as casually as someone might ask what the weather would be like this weekend, she added, "What year is it now? 1941, 1945?"

I gaped, angling my gaze at Riana, who also suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable.

_We lose track of time in the sea_, she projected silently, _you should know that better than most. The ebb and flow of the tides can be… misleading_.

_Misleading by several decades?!_ Because that's how long it was – Alice once told me that Rosalie had been turned in 1933, Kali's birth and subsequent change had occurred not many years after she had left Rochester. So that would make Kali… over seventy years old!

The thought was staggering. She did not act like a seventy year old. She acted like a child… because she _was_ a child, an immortal one. The change had prevented her maturation. I could only assume that prevention was both physical and mental – like with vampires – she was permanently frozen at the age of her change. What had Mara been thinking?

_She always did love Kali best_, Riana thought, catching my eye, _of all of us she considers her a true child. She is almost as precious to her as her own blood-daughter, Lilith_.

Anger filled me. _But Kali wasn't hers! She had no right to take her!_

"It would not be the first time we have heard of an immortal turning a child," Edward lamented quietly; whispering the words into my ear while the others spoke to Kali. "That's how the Denalis lost their mother. She turned a child and was punished for it by the Volturi."

"_But,_ why_?_" I hand-signed, "_Why do something like that?_"

"Sometimes being immortal can be a great burden." Sadness filled his eyes, the brilliant topaz dimming. "We cannot bear children as you know, and some take that reality harder than others. After a time they cannot bare it. It is something I hoped never to put you through, depriving you of that opportunity." A gentle hand rose to stroke my cheek.

I smiled gently, and clicked, "I never have been the maternal type."

"Minds change," Rosalie muttered suddenly, though she was still stood frozen at Emmett's side, watching the child… her _niece_.

"Not if they are frozen that way," I argued. _Touché_.

Kali was looking around at everyone now; at all the troubled and astonished faces. They did not make sense to her. She wondered why they all looked so… sad?

"But," she clicked aloud, "why are you all so surprised by this? Am I surprising?"

"Err, well yes, you are," Carlisle sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair, ruffling the strands. "Do you remember anyone else in your family, besides your parents?"

She frowned again, trying to recall. All was so murky. "I had a grandpa and a grandma but Papa said he did not want me to get attached to them. That once he had enough money for me and Mama he was going to take us away from the family house. He did not like them. I asked him why once and he said I was too young to understand, but Mama once told me it was to do with my aunty. She died. He blamed them for her death…"

Kali trailed into silence and didn't seem to notice the ringing tension in the room.

Riana wondered at the tension too, until she read the reason for it in my thoughts. I remembered the night Rosalie had visited me in Edward's room. I remembered her story…

"I was named after her, you know," Kali said, suddenly bright, still oblivious. "Papa missed his older sister very much when she was gone. Her name was Rosalie Lillian Hale. So he named me Rosalie too! Catherine, my middle name, comes from my mother."

"Well you know, Kali," Carlisle said gently, looking briefly to Rosalie for confirmation and receiving only stillness, "we have a Rosalie here too…"

"What?" Kali gasped, "Who?"

Emmett took the lead, standing behind his wife, hands on shoulders. "_This_ is Rosalie."

Frowning, Kali rose and stumbled closer. Side by side they did look very alike; the resemblance was startling. Kali really did look like a younger, smaller version of Rosalie.

"I remember you from Bella's memories. Rose. You have the same name as my aunty and me."

"Yes," Rosalie breathed. "Because… I am your aunty."

…

It was clear that from then on Rosalie had no qualms about letting the girls stay; in fact, I thought she'd likely have trouble letting them leave. Once Kali had squealed and gleefully engulfed a shaken Rosalie in a jubilant hug… she was lost. I could see it in her face even if I could not read her thoughts. For the rest of the day we left them alone, and Emmett, Rosalie and Kali formed their own little bubble separate from the goings on of the rest of the family. No one minded. And to see Rosalie's smile… a _true_ smile not marred by vanity or bitterness or cynicism, it was a thing of beauty. It was almost like she had gained the child she'd always wanted, one of her own blood too, maybe not _her _blood but for Rosalie it was good enough.

"Well," Riana sighed, looking on from a distance as Kali and Rosalie went through her wardrobe and the little girl tried on her heels. "It looks like you both have found your place."

I frowned at her, wondering at her tone.

That only made her sigh more deeply. "It's just that you have a place here, Kali has a place… I just wish I did too. I don't fit in. I only came on shore to find you, to save you. But that doesn't need doing now. You are safe. Kali's happy. There's no reason for me to stay."

"You never know, maybe you're _Esme's_ however-many-great-grand-niece," I quipped. She gave me a withering look, and I added, "You are just as welcome here as Kali."

Before she could respond with what would clearly have been a grimace, Carlisle came wandering down the corridor. "Bella is right," he said. "You may not be anyone's grand-niece but you too are as welcome here as either of them. Please accept our hospitality for as long as you wish. We bestow it unreservedly and without condition."

"Other than the 'no human' feeding policy, of course," I swiftly added.

Riana smiled wryly. "_Of course_," she said – in the way people say 'duh'. And turning to Carlisle, she smiled graciously, "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

"Call me Carlisle."

She grinned then. "Carlisle."

…

The following days flew by in a blur of happy laughter – mostly Kali's followed by whoever was watching her. The child was a great source of amusement amongst the family and for none more than Rosalie. I didn't think I'd ever seen her smile so much before, let alone _laugh_. And Emmett was right there along with her, enjoying every second of it.

As I watched Kali place a daisy-chain necklace about Rosalie's slender neck, and then rise and run into Emmett's arms to be lifted high, I couldn't help but think that they looked like a real family. It was what Rosalie had always wanted. And Kali she could keep forever.

It was such a pleasant picture, perfect. Although, I couldn't help feeling that it wasn't meant to last. There was trouble on the horizon. We'd had it easy for too long. Something was bound to give, and with such unresolved issues as: mermaid-genetics, Mara's colony, the wolves of La Push, Balthazar… and Charlie's continuing search, it was sure to give _soon_.

Edward told me not to worry. He said that we would work something out. However I had the feeling that whatever _that_ was I wouldn't like it. We were coming upon the date we had set aside for my turning – the time when Edward and I would fake our deaths and move to Alaska so I could become a vampire. And with me already missing… it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Even I could see that. I still did not like it. I'd wanted a goodbye.

Those were dark thought though, and I kept pushing them aside.

For now they were easily ignored.

…

One day I was talking to Riana while we sat in the sun, enjoying the warm rays and soaking in the light. As a human I had always been a fan of the sun and as a mermaid that had not changed. Riana said that mermaids craved the sunlight too. Perhaps it was something to do with living in the perpetual darkness – the ocean floor was hardly the brightest place on Earth to inhabit. I was talking to her about my general aversion to blood and how confused I had been when I had suddenly wanted it so badly that night at First Beach…

"And then I just _smelt_ it," I said quietly as we reclined in the grass. "It wasn't even spilt; it was still in the man's veins but its scent was just so…" I trailed off, reminiscing. It wasn't even a tangible taste; more like a yearning to taste that went beyond mere desire…

"It's just weird," I finished with a sigh, "I never really wanted it _before_ then. And I'd been a mermaid for a while. If I was going to get the blood-thirst, shouldn't it have been sooner?"

I emerged from my reverie to see Riana struggling to suppress laughter. She leant over and clutched her sides with both arms in an attempt to stay quiet.

"What? What is it?" I clicked irritably. The conversation was not funny and I really couldn't see where she found the humour in it, even her thoughts were just laughs.

"Sorry," she said, trying to collect herself. "It's just that sometimes I forget how _innocent_ you are as a mermaid. We really did neglect to tell you the important stuff."

_What?_ My patience was rapidly receding. "What stuff, what are you talking about?"

"Okay," she held up her hands, sobering but still smiling, "you remember that talk we had a few weeks ago, back at the colony? …The one concerning the birds and the bees?"

_How could I forget? _"How does that relate to anything?"

"Okay, well, there are two ways 'to make' a mermaid, right. They can be a human turned by a venomous bite like you and I, or they can be sea-born like Lilith." I nodded, not sure where she was going with this. "_Thus_ mermaids can be bred. But the conditions have to be exact. So, when a mermaid's at the… right point in her fertility cycle, if you get my meaning, _that's_ the point at which she starts to crave blood, _really_ crave it, I mean. That's when the blood-thirst kicks in." She shrugged. "It's all to do with needing it for the baby-making."

My face must have been tomato red, and a little disgusted. I coughed, clearly my throat. "Oh. Well… I could have happily lived my life without knowing that."

"It gets better," she chirped with an evil grin. _Why did she seem to be enjoying this?_ "Some blood calls stronger than others, it's like being hit by a freight train. Apparently that blood is the best… and _that_ delicious blood is the sign of a good genetic match."

A little exasperated, I said, "How can it be a good genetic match if he's dead? I seriously doubt any mermaid would ignore drinking blood that is that strong."

"True," she said. "You heard the Quileutes talking in the boats, they got some bits right. The men don't survive the mating; the mermaids never let them, at least not in our colony." She shrugged. "I hear it's all part of the fun." Then her eyes widened. "Not that _I've_ ever…"

I was feeling rather sick now. "Fun, huh, and who did you hear that from, Lilith?"

"Actually yeah…" Her gaze grew ponderous. "I've heard some mermaids say that there's a perfect blood-match for everyone, someone whose blood calls so strongly that it's impossible to deny. It's like the blood _sings_ for us, calling us – _that's_ a sign of a true mate."

I would have made some disbelieving retort or other, I was sure I had one ready, but I suddenly thought of Edward and his reaction to me the first time we'd met in biology class.

Riana's words echoed back: _The blood sings for us_.

The Volturi had called me his 'Singer'.

And Riana's other words: _That's the sign of a true mate_.

Edward and I may never be able to have children, but perhaps this was an indicator that, in another life, we perhaps could have. Edward would have made a great father.

"So, that boy in the boat at First Beach…" I started, trailing into mental telepathy and replaying the memory for her. He had smelled so tempting, like sunshine made real. She hummed, recalling another boy on the same boat: he had smelt of blueberries. She hummed. "Reasonable, but not extraordinary, not knock-you-on-your-tail fantastic."

"It can be stronger?" I asked in disbelief.

"_Much_," she stressed, "if the memories in the hive-mind are to be believed, and it's hard to lie by telepathy. It all depends on the strength of the genetic match, how attractive the male can be. Females don't smell that way, you'll find."

I considered that. "Hmm, perhaps that was why Giovanni didn't smell so appealing when he appeared. Perhaps he wasn't a good match."

Riana gaped. "Giovanni was here!"

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you." I continued to replay the scene for her, mind to mind. She was surprised and a little miffed that she had not thought of asking him to go ashore herself. But then, she reminded herself, she never would have discovered her land-legs in that scenario.

As she marvelled again at her two appendages I thought of how Gio reminded me of my own dad. Charlie was still worried, still searching, still _hurting_, because I was lost…

"You know what this means, don't you?" Riana suddenly said. I frowned quizzically, only then realising that she had been following my train of thought. "It means that you do not have to worry about your father's blood. It's incompatible. You can see him again."

The comment was said so plainly that for a moment I did not understand… but yes, if what she was saying was true then she was right. I _could_ see him. If I was safe I could see Charlie. And on land I still looked human!

It took a moment for me to get my head around it. That issue had suddenly been solved! But as that knowledge and the new implications it brought sank in, I felt a weight on my chest start to lift. It took a moment to identify what I was feeling: it was relief. Then I sighed, returning to our previous topic.

"You know, I think that was more than I ever wanted to know about mermaids," I quipped.

A thought struck me then and my cheeks blazed with fresh blood. I had not realised that this conversation may need to be a private one, if I had I would not have had it so close to the house! Most of them were out hunting, but Emmett had stayed behind today…

_Oh no_. I cringed… "Please at least tell me that Emmett didn't hear all of that."

"Too late," his voice carried from inside, "already did."

"Why are you always listening in?" I hissed. Couldn't I have five minutes of privacy?

"Vampire-hearing, Bubbles," he chortled, his tone full of glee. "I can't help it if you and Ariel over there are in range." Riana snarled at the new nickname. "Plus, you're far too entertaining to block out. If I didn't eavesdrop so often, everyone would miss out."

_Oh good Lord_. "You're going to be _joking_ about… this… to them?" I gasped in disbelief.

"You better believe it, squirt."

"It's not funny! You know, nothing good ever comes from eavesdropping."

"Oh yes it does – my first rate comedy. And my timing is impeccable. I'll save this material for the _best possible_ moment."

A thought struck me then. "This is revenge, isn't it? This is all because of the whole 'me-pounding-you-into-the-cliff-face' thing at La Push that night at First Beach?"

"Vengeance _is_ sweet, small fry."

I mumbled unintelligibly, too angry to form words.

"What was that?" Emmett called smugly.

"S_rrrr_cha!" I shouted back.

Riana stared at me in disbelief silently awed that I'd voice such an explicit mermaid epithet, before collapsing into the grass, and laughing.

No doubt that little nugget of mermaid-info Emmet had garnered would come back to kick me in the butt one day. And I knew exactly who to blame when it did.

Later that evening, when everyone had returned home, we converged in the living room. Riana perched on a bar-stool from the kitchen while Kali balanced on Rosalie's lap, and Alice and Jasper took the couch. I snuggled into Edward's side on the piano stool and the other Cullens arranged themselves in various locations around the room, settling in for the night. Carlisle had just started to talk to me and Edward about his 'mermaid research' and what he had found when Kali began to entertain everyone with a story, and he fell quiet saying we could discuss it at another time, more privately. Kali's tale was a re-telling of our 'sharky adventure', as she put it, of the time when we had had that near-fatal clash while hunting. As she told it, it turned out to be slightly different than the way I remembered it…

"And then Bam!" Kali beat one fist into the flat of her palm. "Bella torpedoed into its side and it left me and went after her! It was _so_ angwy! Took a bite outta her too, there was blood everywhere, clouds of it! And Mawa had to stitch up her tail using urchin needles and kelp. It only nipped my tail, I lost the tip!" She stretched her feet out in front of her, forgetting that she had legs and no fin to show. "Anyway," she continued on…

Emmett huffed, eyeing me from across the room with what looked like respect. "Jeez, Bella, when you said you took a bite out of a shark I thought you were joking."

All I did was grin, displaying my pristine white rows of very sharp, very lethal teeth.

"My Bella, what big teeth you have," Alice giggled, and then her face went still. Blank.

On all sides of the room, vampires stiffened. Then a howl punctuated the air.

_What was that…? _Riana clicked, tension rolling off her as she noted their poised stances.

"The wolves," Edward deadpanned, while my mind instantly shouted, _Jake!_

"Oh," Riana clicked, her smile growing, "now these I have to see!"

… 

**Ok, little bit of a weird plot point with the mermaid blood-thirst there, I admit. I was going by mosquito biology; in their species the females need blood to produce offspring. What can I say, I'm a vector biologist. But point of interest: if you ever get bitten by a mozzy, it's a girl. **

**Next chapter – Jake's back! :) **

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the wonderful reviews so far. Nemma x **


	47. Chapter 47 - The Wolves' Return

**Thank you for all your fantastic messages! Loved them! Nemma x **

**NOTE: Remember Bella's heroic rescue of Seth at first beach? Yeah? Well, it's important in this chapter. Also, in Jake's last chapter (41, in case you want a re-cap) he agreed to 'spy' on Bella. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 47: The Wolves' Return – BPOV

"Edward, Carlisle," Sam greeted them as they strode out of the front door and down onto the grassy lawn. I held Edward's hand as we walked, watching the bushes for signs of wolves. They were there, of course. And doubtless this visit had something to do with me: assessing my threat level again, perhaps? That was the only reason Edward had allowed me outdoors. "Oh, Bella," Sam said with (seemingly welcome) surprise, "I see that you're walking again."

Only Edward, Carlisle and I came out to meet them. Riana stayed inside with the others

"It took some time but she is slowly regaining the ability to," Edward said as he helped me to balance by winding an arm about my waist, although I didn't need help as much now. Likely it was to assure himself that he could remove me fast should the situation turn nasty.

"Oh, well that is good to hear." Sam nodded companionably.

And as he did, more shadows untangled themselves from the tree cover, seven in all; fully clothed werewolves. Leah and Seth stood to the far left (I'd heard that they were being confined for helping me to escape – so they were free now?), beside them was a smiling Quil and an edgy Embry. And I easily distinguished Paul's sneering countenance on the right, and Jared at his side. The last time I had seen Paul he had back-handed me and brandished a knife in my face. I remembered too well how it had glinted in the moonlight. But beside them was another stoic face, one that shone like the sun, my sun, and snared all of my attention, Jake.

"They let him out? And Leah and Seth?" I whispered in a click to Edward. He nodded, expressionless, and whispered back, "They couldn't keep them locked up forever."

Then his head snapped up and he frowned. I followed his line of sight to Jake.

"What is it?"

"Jacob's talking to me," he hissed, just low enough for _me_ to hear. "He says that this is not some friendly visit – not that I thought it was – but a planned assessment. Apparently they planned to send him in alone, to spy on you and see whether you really are as harmless as you last seemed to be, or if you've regained your strength. But apparently there was some debate. Paul thought Jake would not do the job properly alone, so now they are all here."

I gulped at his tone, so hard. "You're getting all of this from his head?"

"Yes." His eyes never left Jake's.

"So… Jake doesn't hate me now?"

His surprised topaz eyes snapped to me then. "No, I never said he did."

It looked like he wanted to say more, but by then the wolves were too close.

"Why are you here, Sam?" Edward asked aloud as they came to a stop ten feet away, flanking Sam. "What do you want this time? Another council-sanctioned visit, is it?"

Obviously Edward had read their thoughts, but he was going to _make_ them say it aloud.

"You're harbouring a fugitive," Paul snapped without preamble, over what Sam was about to say. "She's wanted for crimes committed against our people, for _murder_."

"Bella has killed none of your people," Carlisle said steadily, loud enough to carry.

Sam sighed. "Paul, this isn't what-"

"-Even if she didn't," Paul cut him off, "the others of her kind did."

Edward's arms were steel-cables wound tight around my sides. The tension within them was palpable; the effort at restraint massive. Jake, too, was scowling at his Pack brother. But as Edward opened his mouth to speak, I laid a gentle hand on his arm.

_Let me_, my eyes said. And although my mind was as clouded to him as it had ever been, he instantly understood, nodding his head. This was my battle to fight.

"Bella would like to speak for herself," Edward said calmly.

Sam's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Can she do that now?"

"In a manner, yes," he nodded. "I have been teaching Bella sign language, and she is a proficient study. She will sign with her hands and I will translate her words."

The others seemed to really take notice now. There was some slight mutterings I could not discern that made me nervous. But Jake's scowl lightened and his posture straightened – finally looking between us. There was a strange mix of worry and relief in his eyes.

My hands rose. "_You would hold me accountable for the crimes of an entire species, Paul?_" I signed, and Edward translated. His eyes glanced down at me; there was warmth there and what might have been pride. Was he proud of the way I was handling this? That gave me encouragement and a little more confidence. I liked to make Edward proud.

"No," Sam answered instantly, glowering when Paul opened his mouth. "After our time spent fighting side by side with the Cullens we know well that some members of a species can be very different from others. And one is most definitely _not_ accountable for the actions of all. But we are a cautious people, Bella. The wolves came into being for a good reason."

I nodded, conceding his point. "_So, why are you here now?_"

"To reassess the threat-level, of course," Leah butted in. At Sam and Jake's glares, she held up her hands. "What? It's not like Edward couldn't read that in our minds anyway, and it's the primary reason the council sent us out here again. They want to know if Bella is bad."

"_I would never harm you_," I signed. "_Or anyone else_."

Sam seemed exasperated, and beyond weary. "Why didn't you say this earlier? Why wait for us to come to you?"

_You've got to be kidding_. I stared at him, disbelieving for a moment. He had actually said that. There were so many reasons but I decided to settle on the main one.

"_And you would have believed me?_"Before he could answer I went on. "_Apart from the language barrier, I _did_ try to tell you_." As Edward translated his expression grew quizzical, his brow crumpling. I nodded to Paul. "_Someone didn't want to listen, so I stopped talking_."

I remembered that night clearly, how he had accused me of going to bite Jake, of how I had tried to say 'no', of how he had _back-handed_ me. I'd tasted blood in my mouth…

"Someone?" Sam glanced around, "Paul?"

For once he did not look so cocky; his usual bravado sapped dry as his cheeks flamed.

"She wouldn't talk," he objected, throwing his arms up. "What was I supposed to do?"

"_Couldn't_ talk, not wouldn't you mongrel…" Edward growled, but as he did his eyes sparked, narrowing to dangerous black slits. "You. Did. WHAT?!"

The steel-cables in his arms snapped clean off my waist as he stalked forward; hands fisted, lips peeling back to expose deadly teeth. Wide-eyed I looked back to see Emmet and Jasper, who guarded the house, flit forward to restrain their brother as the Pack formed ranks.

"Edward!" Carlisle gasped, stepping in front of him.

"She was defenceless!" Edward snarled, shaking like a werewolf. He was incensed. What had gotten him…? Oh, judging by Paul's pale grimace he had _thought_ of something pretty bad. I could guess at what, I remembered clearly how he had treated me at First Beach.

"What did he do?" Jake said, stepping forward as he glanced between them.

Edward shouted. "HE HIT HER! HE PLANNED TO CUT HER THROAT!"

"You WHAT?!" Jake yelled, reeling back, "What the hell, Paul?!"

"Dude," Quil shook his head in disgust, while Sam gawked for a moment, before collecting himself. "You kept that memory and that intent well hidden."

"_He felt guilty_," Edward sneered, still stifled by his brother's restraining arms. "When I met you by her tank and you said she took a bit of a beating because she didn't want to leave the sea I never knew you were being quite so literal! If I had you'd have been running with one less leg days ago!" I'd never seen him look at anyone quite that way, and it scared me.

Moving closer I came within his sight and headed for his chest. The anger and tension flowed from him like water, and as Jasper nodded to Emmett to let go he pulled me close, tucking me safely into his side. A kiss found my forehead and he nuzzled my hair, breathing deep. I knew that gesture; it was his way of reassuring himself that I was okay.

I looked up to his darkened eyes. "_I'm fine_," I signed, "_no bruises_."

He flinched and I knew he was remembering too. I had hardly returned home in the best state; scales ripped from my torso, skin shredded, bullet wound in my side, bloody…

And now he had someone to blame for some of that.

Sam looked to us. "We didn't know."

"I know you didn't," Edward sighed, his anger not quite faded. "I hear that."

"She was fighting to get free, to escape. I was trying to get her to co-operate," Paul muttered in his own defence, effectively condemning himself in one clear sentence.

"Co-operate this, pup," Emmett growled, while grinding one fist into the other.

"No fighting!" I barked. Edward quickly looked at me and I realised then that I had tried to use English out of habit and only released a series of garbled high-pitch barks. I coughed to clear my throat and tried again. "No fighting," I muttered in Mermish clicks.

Edward frowned. "Do you seriously expect me to let him get away with this, Bella?"

"No fighting," I repeated, pleading, "Please."

There had been enough blood-shed because of me; there was no need for more.

I felt more than saw the fight drain out of Edward as he held my eyes. Emmett huffed in irritation somewhere to the side and a wave of calm enveloped everyone. Jasper had taken his time releasing it, and I wondered briefly whether he wanted the fight too.

"Wait," Jacob said after the tension had eased, "can you understand her? …How?"

Edward sighed, releasing my gaze. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and drew me even closer. "She's been teaching me her language," he said wearily, pointedly ignoring Paul.

"Language?" Jake repeated, wrinkling his noise.

"Yes, as in mermaid tongue," Edward clarified in a tone that suggested Jake was slow.

"They have their own language?" Embry said with surprise.

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Yes, it's this great thing people of the world use to communicate with each other and impart knowledge," I said in a series of fast clicks. Edward threw back his head and laughed. "Don't translate that," I quickly added.

He gazed down, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"Whatever she said wasn't very nice, was it?" Embry muttered, but his lips quirked with the beginnings of a smile.

"That's so cool," Quil said, and preceded to string together a chain of nonsensical clicks, in a rather lame attempt at mimicry. It sounded like a monkey making ow-ow-ah-ah noises… only the Mermish equivalent. I cocked my head to one side, scrutinising him.

At the end of his dialogue he beamed. "There, what did I say?"

Instead of the happy response he was obviously expecting I decided to play a different game and twisted my features with a mix of hurt and fury. "My mother is a WHAT?!"

Edward translated straight-faced. The grin fell from Quil's face, Seth muffled chuckles, and in front of them I beamed like the Cheshire cat, displaying an array of milky white teeth.

"Nice," Embry laughed.

With that one simple gesture the last threads of anxiety dispersed. Everyone relaxed and the atmosphere cleared; though as the talk continued Paul slunk back to the periphery of the group to the treeline, away from the easy comradery he clearly did not share.

"So," Carlisle clapped his hands, "what does bring you here, Sam?"

He nodded, getting to the point. "After numerous meetings, the tribe's elders have decided that they wish to take precautions when dealing with the sea-dwellers. We've actually come here not just to assess Bella, but in the hopes that Bella may be able to offer us some… err… _assistance_. We are ill-equipped to battle mermaids in the water."

Jasper spoke calmly, "Then don't follow them into the sea…"

"It may not be that easy, vampire." Sam shook his head. "Make no mistake; we will not go _looking_ for war, not after what happened at First Beach. We intend to keep our distance. But should any of us find ourselves in such a situation we will swiftly drown. We are no more adapted than humans to breathe underwater. However, Leah has found a section in the old scrolls that she thinks may give us an added advantage. Something that may save our lives in a struggle in the water, only, we need a mermaid to help us with it…"

Edward frowned. "With what…?"

"The _Koss__söngvari_," Leah spoke up.

Edward looked more confused than I felt. "…The Singer's Kiss?" he translated.

She nodded. "It is said that that gift, bestowed by a willing _sjó__söngvarar_, or mermaid, will allow us to breathe freely underwater. It will prevent drowning. We just need to work out what it is, and _hopefully_ Bella will be gracious enough to help us out?"

Facing me, she raised her eyebrows… but _I_ didn't know what it was.

"I thought it was obvious," Seth said, grinning at her side. "The Singer's Kiss is, quite _literally_, the Singer's kiss. You know, like mouth to mouth romantics from a mermaid!"

"I've seen their fangs, Seth. No thank you," Embry said, adding, "No offense, Bella."

I held up a hand: None taken.

"Seth," Leah said, "Like I told you I doubt the text is so literal. Over time words change and become lost in translation. It probably means something very different."

"No, it doesn't," he argued.

She folded her arms. "And how would you know?"

"Because I can breathe under water now."

Dead silence; I may have heard distant crickets chirp.

"No, you can't," she eventually said.

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"I can."

"No, you _can't_," Leah stressed. "Seth, you can breathe under water as well as the rest of us… which, for the record, is not well at all."

"I can. I tried after you told me about it, and it _worked_."

Her dark eyes narrowed. "How would it work for _you_, though?"

He shrugged. "I got kissed by a mermaid," then he continued slowly, as if speaking to a child, "_Mermaid kisses prevent drowning_."

"Wait, what?" Suspicion morphed into shock as she stared at her brother.

Jake was suddenly looming over Seth; looking dark and dangerous with his added height and shadowed eyes. "Who…?" he asked, lowly, "Who kissed you?"

"Bella," he said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

_Huh, what?!_ In synchronisation, Edward and Jacob turned with twin looks of shock.

"What?" Jake gasped at me, looking incredibly hurt, "When?"

I didn't know. Scrunching my brow, I tried to think back… _Oh_, the night I had rescued Seth. He had stopped breathing. I had tried to breathe life back into him with CPR. My attempt had been fumbled and barely successful. Actually I was surprised it had worked at all. Likely I had done it wrong. But our lips _had_ come into contact, so, I guess…

"Honestly Bella." Alice suddenly appeared, throwing up her arms. "You were supposed to be kissing fewer men, not _more_. What happened to being engaged to my brother?"

Beside her, Emmett huffed with a smirk. "How many do you have on the go at once, B? Huh, and I thought I was bad when I was human." He was mocking me again, wonderful.

All I could do was stare at them with my mouth hanging open, cheeks flaming red.

"Another werewolf too," Alice lamented. Sighing, she pressed a delicate hand to her forehead, "What is it with you and supernatural men? Or is it just the muscles?"

Up on the porch steps, Rosalie chuckled while surreptitiously covering her mouth.

_Oh, the humanity_. _Why must everyone come out to mock Bella?_

"Ah, I see." Edward's eyes had glazed and Seth was frowning. I realised then that Seth must be replaying my muddled rescue in his head. "I don't think that counts as a kiss, Seth."

The boy folded his arms over his chest, looking of all things, peeved.

"My newly acquired anti-drowning skill begs to disagree with you."

"You tested it thoroughly? And it works?" Embry asked and Seth grinned and nodded, while Edward quickly explained to Alice and the others. "He almost drowned at First Beach and Bella gave him CPR."

"CPR is also called '_the kiss of life_', dude," Seth said, "hear the pivotal part of the name: _kiss _of life. It's all in the title." He folded his arms looking smug as the other wolves silently assessed him, as if they were seeing the scrawniest member of their Pack in a new light. "You never know," he added, "maybe the idea came from mermaids in the first place."

Something in his statement rang true. Had Riana told me that? Yes, I thought she had. That was, of course, before our race had changed to the whole ripping and tearing approach when it came to sailors. Why had Mara taken that route? I did wonder sometimes…

Suddenly, Jake strode over to a nearby rain-filled barrel by the garage and plunged his head in, showering water everywhere.

"What the Hell?" Leah exclaimed, while we all silently watched, unsure what to do.

The wait grew, but he did not re-surface… he didn't _seem_ to be struggling but as the seconds ticked by my worry grew. What on earth was he up to? I was on the verge of striding over and yanking his head out myself when Edward placed a blocking arm in front of me.

"He's fine," he said and I was shocked to see that he was struggling not to laugh.

Before I could ask, Jake flung his head up, spraying half of the crowd closest. He leant on one arm heavily while he gripped the barrel and spewed streams of water, hacking coughs.

"Jake?" I chirped, worried and stepping forward.

"It's not working," he eventually groaned, as if that disproved Seth's theory.

Something seemed to click with Leah, and her tensed muscles relaxed.

"Bella was human when you kissed her, dummy," she said. "Of _course_ it won't work."

"I could have told you that," Edward said smugly.

"But you didn't," Jake noted, breathing heavily.

Edward only smirked. "If you wish to drown yourself in a bucket of water, who am I to stop you?" Jake gave him 'the look', and Edward continued, "Of course I could be wrong. By all means, attempt to drown yourself again, dog. Prove me wrong, I'm not stopping you."

"Edward!" Esme gasped from the front door. Now that was all of the Cullens outside. I hoped my sisters stayed put – the wolves' reaction to seeing them would likely not be pretty.

Jake huffed, water dappling his face. "I don't see you lining up to try it out, pretty boy."

"No need, pup," he grinned boyishly, showing pristine white teeth. "Vampire, remember. We don't need to breathe so we can hold our breaths indefinitely. However," he continued in a calculating tone, "if I were a human or a werewolf-"

"-you would be so lucky," Jake interrupted harshly.

"-then I'd have no doubt it'd work very, _very_ well."

I wasn't sure why, but I was blushing. Blood couldn't fill my cheeks fast enough.

"Oh my God," Leah stamped a foot, "just get a ruler out and measure already!"

"Leah," Sam groaned, a hand going to his face in embarrassment, but she only turned her ire my way. "What is it about you? Whenever you're around they act like morons!"

I shrugged, unsure what to say, "Must be my natural charisma."

Edward chuckled as he translated, and then whipped his head to glare angrily at Embry. That surprised me; I didn't think Embry had ever done anything to anger him, _ever_. He was probably one of the least likely in the group to stir up trouble. Embry wasn't even looking his way and didn't see the look; he was deep in thought, frowning at the ground.

"Maybe we should all just kiss Bella," he said slowly, as if with dawning realisation. "The kiss of a _sjó__söngvarar_ is what we need, and that's what Bella is!"

Leah threw up her hands and stomped into the woods, while Edward groaned in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose as he released me and turned away. Alice giggled.

"I don't think he's too happy with the idea," she chimed.

While Edward had his back turned, apparently attempting to regain a modicum of calm, Jake grinned and strode forward, "Okay then, I'll go first."

Edward snapped to attention and bared his teeth in open warning. "No you will not!"

Still grinning, Jake held up his hands, edging closer.

"Hey, for once it wasn't _my_ idea. And you have to remember that this is for our survival, for the good of the Pack. Bella wouldn't deny us that now, would she?"

Edward muttered something about 'werewolf-survival rates' but Jake ignored him.

"What do you say, Bells," he said, looking to me with those earnest puppy-eyes, "you ready to take one for the team? Or… err," he frowned, glancing over his shoulder, "ten."

Seth called cheerily, "No need to include me, I'm good thanks. All kissed up!"

"Wait, what?" Quil picked up, "What's going on here? Are we _all_ kissing Bella?"

Leah stalked back out of the woods with balled fists. "I am NOT kissing Bella Swan!"

"Fine," Jake said, his eye never leaving mine, "you can drown."

"Oh, I see," Quil said slowly. "Okay then. I'm down with that."

I gaped and at the treeline, so did Leah. "Am I the only one here who _doesn't_ want to kiss Bella Swan?!"

"Err…" Sam raised a cautious hand, as if we were in freaking class! "I'm not too comfortable with this idea either, as much as it's for the good of the Pack."

"I'm glad _someone_ agrees with me." Leah looked relieved.

_So, now they were forcing themselves to kiss me – against my will and against their own. This just keeps getting better and better._

Jake moved to lean over me, ignoring both them and Edward's aggressive snarl, as if nothing else existed in the world but he and I in that moment. The dark pools of his eyes swam like warm chocolate.

Edward's bark broke through the trance. "The comradery we developed these past weeks is fast approaching its end, wolf."

The words meant nothing to him, Edward's words meant nothing, Jake just edged ever closer, his dark brown eyes filled with emotions I could barely fathom but tugged at my heart.

"I haven't agreed to this!" I squeaked, unable to look away.

Then he was taking me in his arms. Startled, I held up my hands to ward him off. They only hit a well-toned, too warm, chest that _shivered_ under their touch. Apparently, Jake didn't need a translator for that, and hurt filled his over-expressive eyes.

"You going to let me drown, Bells?" he accused, "Cause that's what'll happen…"

"I-I…" My eyes slipped away then, towards Edward. This wasn't a good idea for more than one reason. If Jake and I had been nothing more than friends before I probably wouldn't have protested as much – considering the situation and the advantage I could give him and the other boys – but we had history. Not that I'd be freely wandering around kissing random men in front of my fiancé! This was all kinds of wrong!

"I made a promise to you, dog," Edward growled then, low and dangerous, "that the next time you kissed her against her will I would happily break your jaw for her. That offer has not yet expired."

Jake scoffed. "You're just lucky it's only a kiss that's required."

_He didn't just_…

"You're digging your own grave, wolf," Emmett called as Edward's growl escalated.

"Hey man," Quil called, "he's just saying what they're all thinking. You should know."

The growl stopped, with effort, and Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sometimes I really hate being the mind-reader. And you, dog-" he glowered at Jake "-keep those fantasies, and your _hands_, and your _lips_, and _anything else_, to yourself!"

"Hey, don't be mad at me!" he grinned. "Be mad at the serial kisser over here."

"Serial kisser!" I choked. I was somewhere beyond hysterical at this point. And Jake was only making it worse. My heart thumped as he leaned in again with intent. _Shirtless_, why was he always shirtless? As he towered above me I saw nothing but rippling muscles.

"C'mon, sweetie, pucker up," he coaxed, eyes bright and filled with humour – just like my Jake from the old days, my sun. "It's for a good cause, for the good of the Pack…"

"Why don't you try drowning yourself again, Jacob?" Edward said dryly, "Maybe it didn't work the first time because you didn't hold your head under the water long enough. I'd be happy to assist you if you wish to remain submerged for longer."

"Edward…" Esme warned.

"What mother," Edward said, just as innocently, "I was simply offering my aid."

"Bells," Jake continued, serious now, the amusement falling away, "this may be something I really need in the near future. You're not going to deprive me of some kind of protection that could potentially save my life and that is so easy to give, are you?"

There was that earnest look again; the one that had gotten me to kiss him before the newborn battle. It had been manipulation then and it was manipulation now, but he had a point…

The front door creaked open.

"Err, Bella?" Riana's voice called across the lawn in a series of staccato clicks, "you okay out here? What's going on?"

Riana! The wolves!

Jake tensed, and behind him the wolf pack baulked, lips drawing back over teeth – even in non-wolf form they were intimidating. Riana wandered out, carefully meandering her way to me, as she cautiously eyed the collective 'human' company. I could feel her moving, see her walking through her eyes, but I was locked in Jacob's gaze and he was yet to release me. From her, I could see Edward stood rigid at my side, his dark eyes boring into Jake.

"Another one?" Paul growled as Carlisle quickly stated that she was their guest.

_You're propelling distress waves all over the place, _she projected to me, ignoring the ensuing discussion between the Cullens and the Pack_, what's happening?_

"Riana," Edward said her name like a prayer, his voice saturated with such absolute gratefulness that she stopped dead in her tracks, regarding him with confusion.

_Should I be worried? _She projected at me, which was useless of course because Edward could hear her every word, both telepathic and verbal.

"Please don't be anxious, we need a favour." He glanced about. "Or a few…"

Jacob was looking distinctly annoyed now; the russet skin of his brow crumpled as his eyes held mine captive, unwilling to release them.

"I heard," Riana quipped, grinning now. "And Bella can't do the job alone?"

Only she could see the hilarity of the situation.

"What did she say?" Jacob asked, not once looking up as Edward translated.

"Bella can do the job just fine," he grated, then faced her, "now if we can just…"

The moment his eyes fell on Riana his whole body froze. Something sparked in the far depths of his eyes that I had never seen before; he was like a man blinded by the sun.

… 

**Okay, so some of you will like that and some of you will hate that – but I can't please everyone, so I just hoped you enjoyed the ride. :) **

**Also, due to a bigger and more hectic workload over the next few months, ugggh, updates are going to be fortnightly for a while – just a heads-up, so please be patient. I'll try to keep it to Fridays too so you have an idea when they'll be up. **

**Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them all. And thanks so much for the wonderful reviews so far. Nemma x **

**Twitter: NemmaW **


	48. Chapter 48 - The Kiss of Life

**Thank you for all the positive messages for the last chapter! I was quite ill through last week and reading them perked me up. Nemma x **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 48: The Kiss of Life – BPOV

It took a little time for everyone to settle down; for Jasper to spread his calming influence, for the wolves to lower their 'figurative' hackles at the appearance of another _sjó__söngvarar_, for Jake to shake his head and return to our reality, for me to turn to Edward with quizzical eyes.

"_What happened?_" I signed, tossing my head in Jake's direction. He still looked dazed.

"He's imprinted," Edward whispered back, and something in his voice suggested that he was beyond jubilant by that news.

Around us everyone continued on, oblivious, as Carlisle introduced Riana to Sam, and Jake silently mouthed her name, as if testing the feel of it on his tongue.

The evidence was undeniable. He looked as if he had been struck dumb.

Jacob Black, my best friend, had imprinted on Riana.

And she had no idea.

Neither did anyone else by the looks of it. All of the wolves were oblivious in their non-telepathic human forms, and Riana had more than my thoughts to focus on right now.

"Let me get this straight." Riana held up her hands, smirking all the while. "So… you want _me_… to make out with…" she quickly did a head-count, "_ten_ werewolves?"

The Cullens knew enough to translate for themselves, but the wolves were left stumped.

"The short answer is yes," Edward called. "The wolves would like you to kiss them."

That look on Jake's face was stuck somewhere between extreme anger and glee.

"For the anti-drowning ability it will bring," Sam hastily added.

Riana crossed her arms. "What do I get out of this little kissathon?"

"A heart-warming sense of charitable well-being!" Alice chirped with a bright smile, "knowing that you have done a good deed for your fellow man."

"One, my heart does not like to be warm, I have cold blood. And two, they are not 'my fellow man', we are a completely separate species." She waited a moment. "And that's it?"

At Alice's nod she puffed. "That sucks." Then with a weary sigh she clapped her hands, "Well, if it's for charity I suppose I cannot say no. But I would appreciate a hand, Bella?"

She looked at me pointedly, eyebrows high. _Don't you dare leave this all to me_.

Reluctantly, I left Edward's arms, mouthing 'sorry', and joined her side.

He didn't look half so troubled this time though; and his golden eyes flitted between Jacob and Riana, practically dancing with joy. Yeah, I bet he was happy.

"Well, where should I start?" Riana asked. "Should people form a line?" She peeked around Sam's shoulder to look at Leah near the pine trees. "Or is it ladies first?"

After Edward's translation Leah snorted derisively, discomfort rolling off her in waves.

"I think I know who'll be volunteering to be kissed by Bella first," Quil sang, waggling his eyebrows and elbowing Jake, "Since Bella's willing there's no stopping you, huh?"

With a pained grimace, Jake rubbed a hand along the back of his neck.

"Perhaps I'll just wait for Riana," he mumbled, "you go ahead."

"Huh?" Quil said, clearly stumped.

That rose further red-flags among the pack as they looked between us with confusion. Their Alpha seemed to understand, however, as his eyes widened with sudden realisation.

Trying to avoid further embarrassment and humiliation for us both, I stepped towards Sam and raised my eyebrows in question. He huffed, awkward and uncomfortable.

"Well, if you don't mind, Bella…"

I stood on tip-toes and kissed Sam on the cheek; a light chaste peck. There. Done.

"Err, hate to break it to you, Bells," Seth said, "but he doesn't breath out of his cheeks."

"On the mouth…?" I asked Riana.

Pressing her lips tight, as if to restrain a smile, she said, "That _is_ the traditional way."

"It is where he breathes from after all," Seth said knowledgeably, "so that's where you have to place your anti-drowning mojo."

I looked to Sam. He grimaced and shrugged as if to say 'what have we got to lose?'. So I tried again, stretching up to deliver a chaste peck on his lips.

_Breathe out_, Riana coached in my mind. _It's all in the chemicals in your breath_.

I did as she bid, trying to be subtle about it, and took a step back.

"Is that sufficient?" I clicked. Or was tongue required? I didn't dare ask.

Riana nodded, and turned to speak conspiratorially to a now surly-looking Edward; her words carried nonetheless. "You're just lucky it's only a peck on the lips that's required. Be grateful."

I choked out a gasp while Edward's eyes closed and he slowly inhaled – striving for calm. He shook his head. "You're as bad as Jacob, and Em. Their thoughts are the same."

Riana grinned. "That's why I have a Team Emmett sash!"

"A what now…?" Emmett came bounding over. "Did I hear my name?"

As the tale of the sash-craze among the Colony's mermaids unrolled in her mind, Edward's eyes twinkled, coming to life with mirth.

"You did," he said, "but it's a story best left for later I think."

Carlisle came to talk to Sam as Riana and I delivered more kisses. Both Edward and Jake looked incredibly uncomfortable and irritated but neither, especially in Jake's case, could voice any credible reason for us not to gift the wolves with a potentially life-saving ability. I got Quil and Leah while Riana took care of Embry, Jared, and yes Jake. When their lips met they lingered and as they parted Riana looked almost confused.

"You smell… interesting," she said on a whisper, her brow indenting, and as her eyes jumped between his, her tongue roamed out to taste her lips.

"What did she say?" he asked just as quietly, mesmerised by the sight.

I didn't know who he was talking too. I was the only one close who could understand, so I chose to quietly ignore the pair, and leaving them to their moment I shuffled away. It wasn't like I could tell him either, my speech was just as incomprehensible to him.

Once I was a distance away, and the two were yet to drop gazes, I turned to see Edward eyeing me warily. His eyes jumped to Jake, and back. Was he worried?

Oh! Did he think that I was jealous of Jake's new interest?

To assure him I smiled, letting my love for him shine through. Jake was my friend, he always would be. And I was happy that he now had a shot at happiness too. A real one. But my heart would always belong with Edward – there had never been any contest.

I tried to let my expression fill with all of this at once.

The smile he gave me in return was full of warmth, and not a little relief. He got it.

In the end, Riana and I both refused to go near Paul, who hunched down by a tree on the far edge of activity – keeping clear. No one asked us to reconsider.

After the two groups had integrated a little more, and Jasper spoke with Embry while Emmett laughed with Quil, Rosalie brought a bouncing little mermaid down the front steps.

"And this is Kali," Carlisle said to Sam, "the young one I told you of, Rosalie's niece."

Her mind seemed to be stuck on a continuous loop of: _Wolves! Wolves! Wolves!_ It shouted loud as she silently beheld all on the front lawn with wide astonished eyes. Her mouth dropped open into a little 'O', and as she hopped her excitement was palpable.

_You left me indoors! _She silently accused Riana and I, but quickly became preoccupied with Quil, who was smiling at her. When he waved, she giggled, pressing her fists to her lips.

"I know how to handle kids," Quil said. "My imprint is only four."

But Rosalie held back the squirming youngster while she pinned each wolf with a death-glare. "If any of you mutts so much as _thinks_ of imprinting on her, I swear you will be gelded by my own hands."

The boys stepped back as one, a wise move I thought. And it sounded like Jared gulped. Seth, however, either didn't hear the warning in her tone or had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. With an elbow nudge to Brady, and a smirk, he faced Kali with a sudden look of amazement – something similar but not quite as genuine as Jake's recent expression.

"Oh, wow," he said, his voice thick with astonishment.

Rosalie honed in on him like a hound scenting prey, and the look on her face was frightening. "You better be joking, dog." Suddenly Emmett was at her side too, and for once there was not even a trace of humour on his face. Slowly, he cracked his knuckles…

"He _is_!" Jared said, quickly grasping the young wolf's shoulders and steering him away – to safety. "He was only joking, that's all!"

Over by Carlisle, Sam sighed. "There are very few of us left who _can_ imprint. Less now than when we arrived," he added with a rueful side glance at Jake. "I think she'll be safe."

"She better be," Rosalie mumbled.

Emmett said nothing, but he pinned each wolf with a piercing glare they tried to avoid.

Only then did Rose release Kali, who took off like a shot to stare in wonder at the Quileute boys. Embry grinned down at her while Quil laughed at her excitement and knelt.

"Want to see one of us in our wolf-form?" he asked, "I'll let you stroke my coat."

Suddenly she was shy. Looking to her shuffling feet she spoke softly. "Yes, please." Her please sounding more like _pwease_, even in mermish she carried a lisp. Esme translated.

Most of the afternoon was spent with the boys phasing back and forth so Kali could laugh and play and pet. Embry even went so far as to _play fetch_ with a stick she threw. Leah looked plain bemused as Kali patted Quil's head and she quietly reminded him that Kali was a mermaid too and could have been with the others that attacked First Beach.

"She doesn't look like much of a monster to me," Embry shrugged at her side.

"Appearances are often deceptive," she said.

Both of them looked on as Kali crouched before wolf-Quil, made claws of her hands, and said '_rar_!'. Yeah, she was a real monster.

Taking my hand, Edward quietly led me to sit at the base of a nearby tree and from the comforting fold of his arms I watched our groups bond. We said little and mostly just enjoyed the overcast day. We had good seats to see Jake's first real attempt at speaking to Riana.

She stood a little apart from the others, on the edge of things, so she noticed straight away as Jake strode towards her – all blatant over-compensating swagger. Oh dear…

"Hey, Riana isn't it?"

She nodded.

"That's a pretty name. Want to see me in _my_ wolf-form?"

Her eyebrows rose. "Any reason for you boys to strip off and you go for it, don't you?"

Bemused, he glanced over to Edward, who swiftly translated while nuzzling my neck.

Jake fumbled, "I… I didn't m-mean, I…"

The blush that covered his face then reminded me of the first Valentine's Day he had given me a card. He must have only been five. And it was only made worse now by the language barrier. I felt sorry for him; he was going to have his work cut out with Riana.

Maybe I could ease some of his pain by quietly teaching him our language.

A wave of discomfort rolled off Riana then and I realised that she felt guilty.

"Go on then," she said, shrugging slightly, as if she didn't care, "why not?"

Inside she was fascinated but very unwilling to show it. He was a land-walker after all.

A minute later a giant russet wolf had emerged from the bracken to stand before her. To say she was impressed was an understatement. She held out a hand in query.

"May I?" he huffed a nod, and she reached out to tentatively touch. "Wow, that's soft."

The afternoon wore on and soon there was talk of making a campfire. When the sky began to darken it became a necessity to remain outdoors. Esme offered the house of course, to Alice's and Rosalie's chagrin, but Sam politely declined, saying that wolves preferred to be outdoors. The issue of each other's unbearable scents went unsaid. So a fire it was.

As Jasper, Jared and Embry collected kindling and deposited it at a far corner of the front lawn for Quil and Kali to set up, I noticed Riana take a deep breath, square her shoulders and head over to where Paul sat at the base of a pine tree. He was still sulking in the shadows and was so quiet that I had almost forgotten he was there. I nudged Edward, worried, but he was already watching them.

"What do you want?" Paul huffed when she stood before him.

"To see if you'd rather drown than condescend to accept a mermaid's kiss."

Unasked, Edward called out the translation. This was going to be a problem for a while, at least until one of them learned how to speak Riana-style.

"What," Paul seemed genuinely surprised, "are you seriously offering?"

She shrugged. "All of your pack brothers are safe from drowning, and I hear that you lot work better as a unit. You're never going to get one off Bella, and Rosalie will not let Kali near you. I am your only choice. It's up to you, do you want what I'm offering?"

He said nothing, just gaped. Riana seemed to take that as permission and slowly leant down to his height. I tensed beneath Edward's arms and Jake was suddenly closer to her than he had been before, but Edward quietly whispered in my ear that she would be alright. A wolf would never harm another wolf's imprint.

"There," she said, after delivering a swift peck, and promptly turned her back.

As she strode away, he quietly mumbled, "Thank you."

"I wonder how such a thing works…" Carlisle said, leaning on a tree to our right.

Only then did I realise how many people had been watching that little drama. From around the now-roaring fire, most heads were turned in her direction – both Cullen and Pack. All accept for Kali, she was preoccupied toasting a sardine on a stick with Rosalie – that was what Esme had given her in lieu of marshmallows, since sweets were not palatable to her.

"It's due to a side-product of our venom," Riana clicked as she came to sit beside us, folding her legs on the grass. Jake instantly took the space next to her. "A particular chemical in our mouths that, when released in small quantities, coats the recipient's lungs with a fine layer of… I think Mara calls it '_ísanda_'-" Into my ear, Edward told me that meant 'ice-breath' in Icelandic, "-which allows the organs to filter out oxygen in the water to sustain us."

"Fascinating," Carlisle said (quietly translating for the listening Quileutes).

"I know," Riana grinned, her red hair flashing in the firelight, "we are."

"So I have mermaid venom in my lungs?" Seth said.

She shrugged, "Looks like it." And then she laughed, tossing a twig onto the flames as Paul quietly joined the ring of people. "The irony of all this is that you didn't even need me or Bella. Just head on over to the colony and they'll happily… cater to your needs."

"Err…" Embry baulked, "I prefer to not be eaten by my kissing partners."

Riana looked up. "Bella never told you, did she?"

As Edward translated, he frowned. Sam frowned too, "Told us what?"

Her mouth was open in a wide 'O' as she silently regarded me. I grimaced, falling back to hide in Edward's shirt. This was not my favourite topic, in fact, it was down-right weird.

"Oh, this is too good," she quietly chuckled, becoming quickly animated. "You guys are like celebrities to most of the mermaids in the colony. Or were, I don't know what the status quo is since the incident at First Beach as I've not been back there."

"Hold on," Jake held up a hand. "What do you mean we're celebrities?"

"Mara set a watch on you, long before we decided to actually meet with you. It was like a sport among us girls: 'spot the werewolf or vampire'."

"We were aware that some were following us along the coastline…" Carlisle said.

And when I looked at him sharply, he caught the movement and smiled, a little sadly.

Riana grinned. "It was absolute pandemonium in the colony, we even made sashes!"

"I'm confused," Edward frowned, "what do you mean by 'made sashes'?"

Kali perked up then, chewing a charred fish, "For the Teams of course!"

Before anyone could ask, Edward released a very loud, very shocked laugh.

I peeked up at him and knew that my face was beat-red. His eyes were slightly glazed, seeing and hearing things in Riana's memory that I had no doubt heard a hundred times over. Curious as to her train of thought I opened up my mind to filter through her mental imagery.

She was remembering the slowly growing werewolf fever, as she'd dubbed it, and then the sheer chaos that'd ensued when one girl had come back claiming to have seen a _vampire_.

"The colony split into teams," Riana explained, "those who supported their favourite wolf or vampire. Paul was very popular, he was the one we saw the most and the younger ones would congregate along your known path hoping to get a glimpse of you."

Paul looked dumbfounded. He really didn't seem to know how to take that.

Oblivious to his current state, Sam explained that he had set different patrols for each member of the pack; by pure coincidence Paul's loop had tracked the coastline, while most of the others remained inland.

_Paul's Pals._

The phrase darted out of nowhere and Edward couldn't contain his bark of laughter.

"They really called themselves that?" he asked Riana.

She smirked knowingly, the answer already available in her head.

"So, you're telling me that somewhere out there, there's a horde of hormone-crazed mermaids, wearing Team Paul sashes and clambering for a glimpse of him or his autograph?"

Well, I didn't know about the autograph part but he'd hit a bulls-eye with the rest.

Embry coughed out a laugh too, skewering a sausage from the cooler Esme had brought out. Now all the wolves were happily munching around the fire. It was nice to see.

"Rachel's got competition," he chuckled while Paul's cheeks reddened.

"Thank you, Riana, Bella," Quil sang, "you've just given us enough joking material to tide us over for the next ten years. This ain't ever going to get old!"

"Ha!" Jake chuffed, watching Paul's face quickly pale. "I don't think I've ever seen a guy more mortified to realise a horde of supernatural teenage groupies are stalking him!"

"He wasn't the only one," Riana said, "they got pretty obsessed with you too, Jake."

Now he looked scared. "What?"

"They had Team Jacob sashes too," she sang, smiling as Edward translated, "along with Team Embry, Team Jasper, Team Alice… Bella had one too."

"You wore a Team Jacob sash?" Jake asked, looking to me with the beginnings of a grin – all friendly, like it was when we were little.

"_Hers_ said Team Edward," Edward responded before I could reply.

Jake opened his mouth but Edward tapped his head before he could speak.

"I got it for her," Riana clicked. "It had shark teeth on it! Last time I checked there were two main rival teams: Team Edward and Team Jacob. Some of the competition got pretty fierce amongst the girls. There were fights over who was the…" she paused, "best."

Jacob frowned, troubled. "You're telling me that I'm in the running for hottest guy on the West-Coast contest with Dracula-junior over there?"

"Sorry," Riana shrugged, "but he sparkles. It really helps his case."

A gentle nudge to my side caught my attention and I looked up to see Edward's questioning expression. It clearly asked to explain. Oh, of course.

"Anything that's bright and shiny draws our interest." I shrugged, thinking of how I had once recoiled at his expensive gifts. I doubted I would do the same now, I doubted I could. "Mermaids are like magpies when it came to gems. We girls can't resist a guy who sparkles."

Jake grimaced, "That is so lame."

"I always liked warm and furry beasts myself," Riana said casually, picking grass.

_Uh-huh_, I thought at her sarcastically, while Edward looked sickened at having to translate that little nugget. She pointedly ignored me as Jake said to her, "Really?"

She shrugged. "It can get very cold in the sea. I grab warmth when I can find it."

That comment effectively turned my interest away and I studiously focussed on anyone else in the group and shut out her thoughts. It might have been a soppy thing to say, even suggestive, but there was true sadness hidden behind the words that I knew she would not want me to intrude upon. So instead I watched Emmett help Kali skewer another small fish to burn. The last one had ended up as a chargrilled 'spat-out' mess on the floor.

Over all, everyone seemed to be getting along better than they ever had. I whispered as much to Edward at my back and he smiled, kissing my cheek. That was when Sam spoke.

"Perhaps now that we have become better acquainted," he began, looking to Riana, Kali and I, "perhaps now that we understand one another more easily, we can think about talking to you leader. Carlisle has told me a little about her. Her name is Mara, yes?"

Riana and Kali noticeably tensed.

Sam continued, "Perhaps now we can talk peacefully about some, err, boundaries?"

_Peacefully_, Riana projected with menace, _like the last time we met peacefully_.

Images of guns and blood and yelling and pain filled Riana's mind; images of death.

_That was not them_, I swiftly reminded her. _Sam, the wolves, the Cullens, they had nothing to do with that. You know this. It was that man, the one Mara fears_.

Riana's sharp eyes caught mine, catching the leaping fire as Sam continued on, oblivious to her anger. "Perhaps we can reach some kind of accords?"

Taking a breath and releasing it slowly, Riana spoke. "There could never be any real accords between our people until you remove that mermaid hunter from your lands."

"You mean Balthazar?" Paul asked. Edward had told me of their family connection.

"He is much despised among our kind," Riana said with a grim nod, "he killed a great many of us once. And those were from a Colony that did not kill those they fed upon."

That was news to me! I tuned into her thoughts – Oh, the Chilean colony. Mara _had_ said about them once, about their loss. But I had not known of their 'eating habits'.

"He a bad man," Kali said with a definitive hiss – as frightening as an enraged kitten.

"Suffice to say, we don't like him," Riana finished.

That did not go down well. The Cullens agreed that Balthazar should be left from further proceedings while the wolves did not, except for Jake who watched Riana with worry. Likely he'd agree to anything she wanted, I thought. Everyone started to talk, all the voices overlapping in a bid to be heard above the rest, all describing the horrors this man had wrecked and the good he was trying to achieve, all arguing and gaining no ground. I looked to Edward who opened his mouth to call a halt, when one obstinate little voice made itself heard over all the others, one that carried a distinctive lisp.

"Every time he smiles a fairy dies!"

The group went as silent as if someone had hit the mute button on the remote.

Kali blushed, falling back into Rosalie's arms, who quietly translated.

Jasper was the first to speak. "I'm sorry… What?"

Kali blushed a furious red, feeling the weight of every eye upon her.

Riana collapsed into fits of uproarious echoing laughter, while I failed to contain my snort. Kali looked to me with a lightning-quick flick of her head as I covered it with a hand.

"It's true!" Kali stood up and stamped her foot on the grass. The effect of her anger was somewhat lost by the way she said '_twue_', and the colour in her cheeks deepened from pink to maroon as she folded her arms, "Lucwezia said so."

"Then it must be true," Riana smiled, while Carlisle quietly spoke to Sam, "Please remember that, although she is older than Bella and many others present, her mind is still that of a child, tread gently."

The frown Kali wore then was nothing short of adorable. Despite her obvious intention to bad-mouth the hunter, she did manage to settle down the bickering crowd somewhat.

Then Riana became serious once again. "Balthazar's presence will negate any efforts at peace between us, be assured of that. Mara will make it so, our Mother speaks for us all."

Jake was staring hard at Sam now, and the two shared a silent moment before Sam nodded. "Very well, we must speak to the council though before we take further action. It is true that his actions at First Beach cost many lives. I hope you know by now that it was not we who brought the guns and fired upon you." Riana nodded. "Good. But he is a relation, not only of the pack but of the tribe, and he is a respected elder too. This is an issue."

Tension returned to the atmosphere again. But Emmett readily provided comic relief.

"So," he clapped his hands, "tell us more about our underwater fan clubs!"

The night faded into sea-farers tales and werewolf legends and baked sausages and fish, as the Quileute boys shared some of their histories in exchange for ours. Kali spoke of a colony she had once known when she was young that sang regularly for the fishermen off shore to steer them away from rocks in the dark. And Riana told Sam of the legends of Orion the First Hunter. I listened, almost dreamily, as Edward wound his fingers through my hair.

Later, when Riana grew quiet, I followed her train of thought. She was directing it to Edward, and she was remembering the night after she had given me the Edward-sash. When she had drifted into our room, later than usual; she had found me fast asleep half-buried in sand with my kelp-weave blanket hanging around my tail. Whimpering in my sleep I had clutched close a piece of fabric she immediately recognised as the Team Edward sash.

I glared at her furiously. She had no right to share that memory!

As if I needed a reminder of how needy I was, of how hopeless I was without him. She sensed my urgency for her to block it and quickly stowed it away, but it was already too late.

Edward's arms wound around me from behind and he drew me back to him, tucking me carefully into him chest. And as he did a blush darkened my cheeks.

"You know I missed you too," he whispered in my ear. "You hold my heart, love."

I relaxed then, gradually; his voice always had a marvellously soothing effect on me. And across the fire Jacob smiled at us, without a hint of resentment.

…

**So… nice little bit of fluffiness for you there. Fol/Fav/Review if you have a chance, please. I appreciate them. Nemma x **

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** Strange Scales has been NOMINATED for the Fanatic Fanfics Award 2015! For Favorite Action/Angst/Horror/Otherworld/WIP Fanfic. I also got Fav Newbie Author! Wow, that's quite a few categories, thank you for whoever nominated me! :D Voting begins: 31st May until 14th June. I know I'm new on here and that there are many great fanfics in the categories, but I would really appreciate your votes - show me some love! Nemma :)


	49. Chapter 49 - The Visit

**Thank you for all the messages for the last chapter! Nemma x **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 49: The Visit – BPOV

A cover story had finally been concocted for me. After my car had crashed I had hit my head, wandered onto the beach and fallen into the sea. Fishermen had found me somewhere near Hoquiam – yeah, I'd drifted quite a way! – and taken me to the nearby hospital. I had lost my memory and could not remember who I was or where I was from. During one of Carlisle's extended searches he had found me in their General Ward, discharged me, and brought me home. After seeing him and the family, my memories had started to return. _That_ was where I had been. _That_ was how we were explaining it. And now, after Riana's whole blood-match-craving revelation which meant Charlie's blood was safe for me to be around without going all feral and blood-hungry, Charlie was being brought back into the loop. A part of me was walking on sunshine at the idea of seeing my father again, but the other part was terrified. What if Riana was wrong? What if I hurt him? What if he say me and noticed the changes? What would he think? Would some innate instinct spark and make him run away? Would he even _believe_ the cover story? As flimsy as it was? All of these dark thoughts twisted about in my head like a vortex. Carlisle already had the necessary references in place though, Jasper had taken care of the paperwork, and Edward assured me that it would work. Alice reinforced his words.

"Visions, remember," she said, and as she tapped her temple she winked. "Have faith in your psychic sister for once."

"_Yes_," I hand-signed, "_but I thought you could not see me_."

"I can't," she frowned. This did still trouble her. "But I can see _him_." She brightened, smiling. "I can see Charlie calling your mother to deliver wonderful news. I can see him meeting her and Phil at the hotel they are staying at in Forks – they moved here during the search, by the way, so they could help however they could – I can see Charlie celebrating with his colleagues at work and the search-volunteers later tonight: Tyler, Jessica, Angela, Ben, Eric are all there, along with most of the Forks High student-body. There's a bottle of champagne… Hmm… Mike's too young to be drinking that, and at the Police Station too, tut-tut. Oh! He'll barf, it's preordained."

I blinked, disoriented from the mass of information she had thrown at me, and sat down beside Edward on the sofa.

"See," he said, rubbing my arm, "everything will be fine."

"It never is whenever someone says that!" Something was bound to go wrong! It always did… "Surely Charlie will question it, he's not just my dad he's a cop, he'll want to know all of the details. He'll dig!" My chittering rose in volume until I was nearing hysteria. And there was another problem: my voice. My clickish, inarticulate, mermaid voice.

"He'll have questions, yes," Edward said then, as he and Alice shared a look, "that is to be expected, but he'll be more concerned about _you_ and he'll be mostly just grateful you're back. He'll likely keep them to himself."

"Likely?" I clicked.

"That's what Alice sees," he cocked his head her way, "but there's no accounting for chance. Alice sees the most likely path. And if he does query, we can work around it."

Again he rubbed my arm, with languid soothing strokes. Again, I worried.

"This is what you wanted, though, isn't it?" Alice queried. "We could have left Charlie as he was, but you did not want him to keep searching. You wanted to see him again."

"I do," I quietly muttered – however selfish that decision might be.

"There then." She patted my head. "Besides, it's too late. Carlisle has made the call."

Charlie would be here soon. So would my mother.

I hadn't seen either of them in _so long_. And I yearned to feel their arms around me.

"What about my voice?" I muttered, for what felt like the millionth time – it was something that was a constant source of worry. "I can't speak properly."

"We've gone over that," Alice said calmly, "don't speak."

Easier said than… well…

"I'll have to show you the designs Esme has drawn up for the water-mask," Edward said then, "Jasper's quite sure it's something we can fix up, then you can talk on land. Although there are still considerations we must explore for that: whether the salt-water might trigger a change, what effects it might have on your system, how the water will circulate…" he shrugged, "but it's in the works, and with it you could talk to your parents."

I just nodded. Esme had come up with this idea a while back, during the time I struggled with my speech, but it was still in the pre-development stages. I was sceptical.

Not to mention how we would explain it to the general public.

After that silence descended. The house was quiet, and while not all of the Cullens lingered in the living room, awaiting the inevitable, the tension still hung over us all like a veil. Edward and Carlisle sat with Riana and I in the living room, while Emmett and Rosalie tinkered in the garage as Kali took a midday nap upstairs. Jasper was occupied one of the computers while Alice danced away to arrange flowers in a vase and Esme cooked up some chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. They smelt awful and I wondered if my sense of smell was similar to the Cullens' now, regarding most human food. When Esme had made some for me months earlier they had smelt so much better.

For all appearances it was idyllic family life at its peak. The perfect façade.

Edward suddenly sighed, his arm around my shoulders retracting. "That's all we need."

"What is it, Edward?" Carlisle asked as I frowned.

They both rose and he followed Edward to the door. Through the glass walls I could see Jacob bounding out of the tree-cover wearing nothing but cut-off denim shorts.

_Oh_, Riana projected from her armchair with a smirk, _the wolf returns_. I couldn't be sure but I thought I detected a little more than mere interest in her thoughts. But I was a little too hyped up to pay too close attention to her deeper motives right now.

"I thought we had the Pack's approval for this," Edward called from the steps.

"You do," Jake nodded cheerfully. "I'm just here to monitor."

"And to report back."

"Well, yeah, obviously," he shrugged. "Charlie's a friend to the tribe, but I'm also here for moral support. Mind if I come in." As he passed Edward into the living room _without_ an invitation, he looked around until he spotted me on the coach. He waved. "Hello, bestie. We haven't had much of an opportunity to talk since you got back, have we?"

I smiled weakly, but his eyes had already strayed from me to Riana. So, he'd come to talk to his _bestie_, had he? Ever since his imprint had kicked in Jake was taking any and all excuses to visit the Cullen household, and Riana. She still didn't know and I kept quiet.

"Hey there," he mumbled, half raising a hand in a shy wave.

"Hey yourself," Riana clicked in return.

After that things got awkward. No one spoke. Jake shuffled his feet, and strode over to the couch to flop down beside me, as Edward rolled his eyes at his back. I pressed my lips together to hold in the smile. Jake was worse than a blushing schoolboy with his first crush.

"So, Charlie's about five minutes behind me," he told the room as Edward sat on my left. "I passed him when I was running up from La Push. He, Renee and Phil are carpooling."

Oh God, they would be here soon. Oh God, Oh God!

Was this the right thing to do? Of course it was, I couldn't leave them searching for me forever. But then I was only going to fake my death in a few years' time. Whether I was changed into a vampire or not, one fact remained the same: I was not aging. It would show. It was only a matter of time. But this way I had more time with them. Was I being selfish taking this opportunity when I would ultimately cause more pain? Edward let me choose this, the family were going along with it, but was it _right_? Should I have told them I was alive?

I was second-guessing myself. I was unsure. I was _panicking_.

"Hey, it's alright, Bells." Jacob's warm arm wrapped around my shoulder gently and I looked to him; to his warm brown eyes, and saw only concern for me. No censure, no disapproval. Did he think this was a good idea? Did the Pack? "Breathe," he said.

Only then did I realise that I was not. I gasped, heaving erratic breaths.

_Calm, calm breaths_… I made a concerted effort and soon they evened out.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked Riana for about the hundredth time that morning.

In my mind I added what I could not verbally say: my fear of the blood-thirst.

She sighed in her armchair, leaning forward. "Yes, I am sure. I have lived this way longer than you, trust me, look at my memories. You do have a little experience with meeting humans yourself. Remember Giovanni? Their blood does not always sing to us. Your parents will be quite safe. They are the furthest from good genetics matches for you on this earth."

She clicked her answer, and beside me Edward added, "And just in case that's wrong, if you feel yourself falling, Jasper will be here to feel it and I will be here to hold you back, remember that. We'll work out a way to get you out of the room without exciting suspicion."

Yes, I had to remember that. If I went crazy, if I turned into a blood-crazed, befanged and feral mercreature that snapped at her parent's throats, there would be seven vampires, one werewolf, and a mermaid to hold me back… Wow, there was a scenario that was bound to lead to a lot of complicated questions from Charlie and my mother. Oh this _was_ a bad idea.

Beside me Edward rose and headed to the kitchen to check on Esme. Riana calmly picked up one of Rosalie's fashion magazines and Jake fiddled with the TV remote.

While my nerves crackled like live wires.

"I'm getting nervous," I clicked, to any and all, "distract me please. Change the topic."

"Okay." Riana casually tossed down her magazine. "That Jake of yours is pretty."

Interesting topic change… Beside me, the boy in question continued flicking through channels, oblivious to what she was saying, though his attention hardly stayed on the TV, from the way his eyes remained unfocused I was sure he was listening to our strange speech.

"I guess he is…" I clicked slowly, wondering again if it was a good idea to teach Jake our language. "You sound surprised, but you've seen him often enough in my memories."

She shrugged. "It's different seeing him up close with my own eyes, rather than yours," she shrugged again: the Queen of nonchalance. "He's sort of pretty."

"Yeah, you said that," I started to grin. I couldn't help it. "And he isn't _my_ Jake. In fact, he's kind of up for grabs." I mimicked her causal tone as best I could – nonchalant supreme.

"I guess he is." Her head snapped up then. So did Jake's. "I hear a vehicle."

"So do I." The nerves were back. "Edward?"

In the next second he was seated by my side on the couch, holding my hand. And outside gravel crunched under tyres, an engine cut, and footsteps sounded. They were here.

…

No door could keep Charlie Swan away from his daughter: that was the message delivered to the Cullen's front door as he swatted it aside as if it was made of paper, and charged into the living room. I was still seated on the couch, snug beside Edward, leaning into his side with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. Charlie stopped dead, staring.

"Bella?" he gasped, eyes wide and disbelieving.

My mother was much less articulate. Her scream was so loud that my heart rocketed into overdrive. But then in a flurry of flapping hands she had dived at me, pulled me into her arms and fallen to the floor as she sobbed. I gaped wordlessly at Edward over her shoulder.

"It's true, then," Charlie gaped, "I'm not dreaming?"

"Nope," Jake said, grinning at me as I patted my mom's back. "She's very real."

Hysteria bubbled up within my mother's sobbing and then she was gasping and shaking and I was sure, on the verge of hyperventilation. And if she didn't loosen her grip soon I was sure that my spine was going to pop. But at least she did not smell like dinner…

"I knew you weren't dead!" she cried, blubbing into my neck. "I knew, I just _knew_!"

Edward looked on helplessly. He seemed about to step in and carefully extract her when Phil came up behind her. "Renee," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, oh sorry, yes, yes," she said, pulling back and releasing her strangle-hold as she mopped at her eyes with a shaky hand. They bled black mascara. "Oh, I'm just, Oh!"

"Yes," Edward said, as he helped her up and pulled me to my feet simultaneously, "we were much the same when we first saw her."

"Edward was speechless," Alice chirped. Only then did I realise that the other Cullen siblings had quietly entered the room.

"Still am," he sighed.

One of my hands was firmly gripped in Renee's; she couldn't seem to let go of me, even as Edward had pulled her to her feet. And now my skin was turning white and tingly and numb. She didn't notice. I didn't care.

I threw my arms around her too then, pulling her close, and together the two of us fell onto the sofa, only just giving Jake enough time to jump out of the way.

Emotions were high. It took a while for everyone to calm down, and longer for Carlisle and Esme to get everyone seated. Charlie was still staring at me as if I may be a hallucination that would vanish at any second as he took his seat, a deceptive mirage.

"Thank you, Esme," my mother said as she handed her a box of tissues and she rather indelicately blew her nose. "So," she sniffed. "How are you, sweetie? How are you feeling?"

I tapped my neck and shook my head. Her brow crumpled in confusion.

"She can't talk anymore," Edward explained.

This had been an issue, and we had discussed it at length. In the end we had decided on a brief medical explanation.

"It may be to do with the hit to the head," Carlisle said, taking a seat beside Phil, "or it may be psychological trauma. We are not quite certain yet."

Renee sobbed, "Oh, my poor baby!"

"But she _is_ in good health, I assure you," he swiftly added, rightly detecting the rising hysterics and seeking to calm them. "I examined her myself, as did a slew of doctors."

Tears were still falling down her cheeks, but she was smiling. Behind her so was Phil.

There was a cough, and for the first time, Charlie spoke up properly. "She was found in Hoquiam, you say?"

"Yes, I found her there myself," Carlisle nodded, "She was a Jane Doe in the General Ward. I brought her back here within the hour. She has not been here for long."

"I was sure we checked with them," Charlie frowned, "I'm sure we did…"

"Perhaps it was the one place we missed?" Alice chimed in with a sad smile. "Or maybe they mislaid her details or the poster got lost… Carlisle can tell you himself just how over-loaded hospitals can get sometimes, hectic! Things inevitably fall through the cracks."

"To think, you were there all of this time?" Charlie looked at me, his eyes dark with an infinite sadness, but they also held something else too. "You've been in a hospital with doctors and nurses taking care of you," he added. There was stark relief, too plain to conceal.

I simply nodded. The idea did seem to comfort him. He must have envisioned all kinds of grisly scenarios – being a cop he would have seen the result of many search efforts in which the missing had fared much differently, and it would have fuelled his imagination. But I hadn't been attacked, or hurt. I had been looked after by good people in a safe place.

The truth was much darker; the truth would have scared and upset them. It still scared me. Frequently images of the horrors I'd witnessed at First Beach, and before that, flitted through my mind: the blood, the screams, the red waters… a shiver rocked through me.

"Oh honey," Renee cooed, rubbing my arm the way she used to when I was small and chilled, "you're shivering, are you cold? Is that why you're wearing a turtle-neck?" She plucked at the jumper Alice had given to hide my gills from their view. "It's August…"

Shrugging, I hand-signed, "_It's Forks_."

Edward translated, explaining he was teaching me to sign in lieu of verbal speech.

"Oh, Well!" she suddenly burst, grasping my hand in both of hers. "Don't you worry! When we get you home I will get you tucked up in lots of blankets with hot-water bottles and I think there's that sachet of hot chocolate I can make and-"

_What?! No!_ Making rapid halting gestures I got her to slow down long enough to shake my head, forcibly. I was not leaving. Even if I hadn't been some strange half-fish girl that just wasn't going to happen. Edward was here. I wasn't going to leave. She had to _know_ that.

"Oh, but of course," she sighed, understanding, "You won't want to stay at Charlie's! You'll want to come home with me! To nice, sunny Jacksonville. Well don't you worry I am one step ahead of you. There's already a room waiting and I will book the first flight back."

I halted her again, placing my hands on her cheeks this time so that she would really focus on me. Then, pointing to engagement ring, I glanced at Edward, and at the house.

"You… you want to stay here…?" she said, uncertainly.

My nod was emphatic. Hadn't that been what Edward said to do instead of saying 'I do'? Well I nodded for all I was worth. I was staying here.

"But… but you need someone to _take care_ of you!" she implored, her lips starting to quiver and her eyes growing somehow bigger and rounder – the puppy dog look.

Holding onto Edward's hand, I smiled back at him. He smiled too, though his lips were tinged with sadness. Perhaps he may well have thought that this time I should be ushered back into the human world. But I was not human anymore. And Florida was hot and dry.

"Oh, but your just seventeen!" she flapped, waving away the tears.

"_We would have been married by now_," I signed and Edward translated. "_We would have started our lives together had circumstances been different. I would have left home_."

"Renee," Edward said then, "Please do not worry. I will take care of her, as much as she will let me." His golden eyes met mine and held, burning and bright. "She is my life."

"Oh," she said, hand to her heart and fresh tears in her eyes. "Of course you want to stay together, of course!"

Renee was very emotional today, the most I had ever seen her. But then, she had been through a lot in these past weeks. _I_ had put her through a lot. It was understandable.

"Renee," Esme said then, "would you like to come outside and see my rose garden? Bella tells me you recently took up gardening and I thought you may be interested."

"Oh, yes, Esme!" She hopped up, grabbing Phil's hand and towing him with her. "I have been trying to grow roses for the last few months but I seem to get nothing but soil…"

Their voices disappeared with the click of the backdoor. And so we were left with Charlie, who had been quietly assessing us for the past few minutes with narrowing eyes.

What was it? Could he sense that something was up with me? I hadn't even opened my mouth. Even without speaking Charlie could always tell when I was lying though. I didn't know whether this sixth sense came from being a cop or a dad or what, but as a child I had never gotten away with anything. Not that I'd misbehaved often, maybe that was why.

"So," he began, interrupting my inner monologue, "this hospital in Hoquiam just left her as she was? They didn't try to track down any family?" His tone was sceptical.

"They were very busy when I came through," Carlisle said fluidly. "Someone had been assigned her case but they had not made much head-way, they had other cases, you see. Likely they would have found out who she was in time, but fortunately I found her first."

"Fortunately," Charlie rubbed his chin, "yes… and what about these two?"

He nodded his head in Riana and Kali's direction. Riana had vacated the room not long after Jake had arrived and announced Charlie's arrival – to his chagrin – and Kali had woken and stumbled downstairs at about the same time to find Rosalie. Both had taken themselves into the adjoining room with Emmett and Rose to wait out my parent's visit, but on the periphery of my mind I had sensed their curious thoughts, their desires to peek out. And they had been hovering in the doorway for some time now, silently watching my reunion.

"I don't think we've met before," Charlie went on, eyeing the pair who shuffled nervously and exchanged wary glances.

_Told you we should of stayed hidden_, Kali projected to Riana with a tone of strong reprimand, _we weren't supposed to be _seen.

Alice was quick to answer. "They're Jasper and Rosalie's cousins… from Idaho."

"Idaho, huh," Charlie raised an eyebrow. Said eyebrow plummeted as he stared more closely at Riana. "You know, you look a lot like a girl I know… from a missing poster down at the station, a student from Washington University who disappeared some months back…"

Her face paled to ash, though she kept her mouth tight-shut.

No else spoke. Edward's eyes glazed, listening to the internal cogs clicking in Charlie's mind no doubt. What was he thinking? My heart started to pick up, pounding blood through my veins as my nervousness ratcheted up a notch. And Jake stood and quietly moved closer to the door, and Riana, whose fidgety fingers fraying he shirt hem showed her distress.

Charlie huffed, seeming to slouch as he rubbed a hand over his stubbly chin. It made me wonder when he had last shaved, and actually, now I looked closely, when he had last washed to. His clothes were rumpled, his eyes bloodshot. He looked ragged. _Oh, dad_…

"Look," he said, sighing deeply, "I know something else is going on here. I'm a cop, Bells, not just a father. The combination of the two makes me extra suspicious, some would say paranoid, but I've learnt to see the difference over the years." He pinned me with his gaze. "You obviously ain't going to tell me what's really been going on, whatever it is. And I'm not going to ask. I'm just grateful we have you back, Bells, however it came about."

I couldn't believe it. He knew we were lying and he was giving us a _pass_?

He nodded as if I had spoken aloud, and then shrugged. "Your mother always said the best way to end a miracle was to question it. So I'm not going to do that, Bells, I'm not going to question." He sighed deeply again – and the sound was world-weary, as if he was very, _very_ tired. "As long as you're safe _that's_ what matters. That's all that matters to me."

While I sat, gobsmacked, he turned to Edward who sat still as a statue at my side.

"Thank you, son," he said ardently. "I know this had something to do with you."

"I don't know what you mean, sir," he answered fluidly.

Charlie only grinned. "Sure you don't."

From the backyard I heard my mother's shrill voice shout, "That swimming pool is humongous! No wonder Bella wants to stay!"

_Yes, mother_, I thought with exasperation. _Obviously I only wanted to stay because of the pool_.

It was some time later when my parents gathered to leave. Dusk was setting in, the sky was lilac and pink and dappled with diamond lights, and Renee could not stop hugging me.

"I'll see you soon," she gushed, "tomorrow, and the day after. I promise."

I smiled as she released me and after Phil's brief shoulder hug, Charlie stepped up.

He had not come so close before, and up close he smelt of leather and engine oil, and as he hugged me not even the pulsing beat at his neck caught my interest. He just smelt like him.

_Same genetics_, Riana silently reminded, _bad match, if anyone it was your stepfather you should have worried about_.

I ignored her then, focussing only on the awkward but heartfelt hug. I had missed him.

"See you soon, okay?" he said as he pulled back, and I nodded. "I'll be checking in often by phone if I can't make it by car. You get someone to talk for you since you can't, okay? Edward perhaps, he seems to be doing well with that hand signing stuff."

"Of course, sir," Edward said, wrapping an arm about my shoulders as we stood and by the front door, seeing them off. Everyone else inside had already said goodbye and taken themselves off to start their own evening activities, leaving Edward and I alone with him.

Phil and Renee had already headed out to the car, but Charlie remained on the threshold, dithering as if there was something else he wished to say.

"Some of your school friends are anxious to see that you're okay too, Bells. Some of them spent a lot of hours out there looking for you. Is it okay if they stop by sometime?"

"Of course," Edward nodded politely and I smiled in agreement. It would be good to see Angela again, and Jess. I was a little worried about Mike though…

Charlie checked over his shoulder, out the door, and as Renee and Phil climbed into the car he turned to Riana, who was half-hiding in Jake's shadow trying to appear invisible.

"Riana Lefevre, isn't it?" he said, "Would you like me to contact your parents?"

Her eyes widened and she looked like a rabbit caught in head-lights. She shook her head rapidly, red-hair whipping the sides of her face. Jake looked down at her with worry.

"Alright then," Charlie nodded. "Let me know if you ever change your mind."

With that, my parents left. Edward and I stood on the front porch long after the car had disappeared and everyone else had vanished inside. It was a lot to take in. I had my parents back, my family, Edward. Jake and I were finally on the right footing. And even Riana and Kail were here. Weeks before this would not have seemed possible. Now it was a reality. Now I had another chance to give my parents the best resolution I could.

…

Everyone settled down after Charlie, Renee and Phil had left, to enjoy the evening. Rosalie and Alice immersed themselves in some kind of fashion design magazine with Kali, quietly debating over the details. Jasper and Carlisle set up a chess board in the corner, and Esme wandered into the kitchen to clean up (Phil especially had liked her cookies). Edward sat at his piano and graced us all with a tune. The melody leaked so effortlessly from his fingers. I was tempted to join him, and was just in the process of rising, when Emmett's booming voice disrupted the calm. He pointed to me and Riana, sat beside Jake on the sofa.

"Did all of you know that those two crave blood when they're horny?"

The piano clunked as Edward missed a note. A chess piece fell onto the floor.

"Emmett!" Esme gasped.

He only grinned; damage done. My cheek flushed pink. I couldn't believe it; he hadn't even waited for an opening so I'd know it was coming. There was no warning at all.

His grin turned evil, "Told you I'd save that for the best possible moment."

"S_rrr_cha" I all but spat.

Riana who had been frozen on the sofa beside me, suddenly shook, and I guessed she was suppressing a fit of giggles. No doubt she found this funny.

"You know, you say that a lot," Emmett said with consideration, tapping his chin. "I still don't know what it means but I can tell it's a bad word. Tut-tut, Isabella."

I repeated it. Riana clutched her sides and fell back beside Jake, who looked confused.

"Those bubble-heads really sharpened your verbal skills," Emmet said dryly.

That hit a nerve. Riana froze. "_Bubble-heads!_" she shouted, incensed. And we both growled.

"Ooow Scary!" He held up his hands, mockingly. "Are the mermaids going to team up and take another bite out of me?"

_Well since he'd asked…_

Riana and I exchanged a knowing look and in synchronisation began to rise.

Esme peeked around the corner at that moment, "Children, _settle down_."

Riana's smile flipped from predatory to sickly sweet in the blink of an eye, she beamed at Esme, settling back into her seat and folding her hands in her lap like a proper lady.

When Esme was gone, the sweetness turned sour.

"Bubble-heads," she muttered mutinously, "and to think I was Team Emmett."

…

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** Strange Scales has been NOMINATED for the Fanatic Fanfics Award 2015! For Favorite Action/Angst/Horror/Otherworld/WIP Fanfic. I also got Fav Newbie Author! That's quite a few categories, thank you for whoever nominated me! :D Voting is open until 14th June. I know I'm new and that there are many great fanfics in the categories, but I would really appreciate your votes - show SS some love, please! Nemma x

Note: as some people have been asking about where to vote, and as I cannot include a link on here - if you search Fanatic Fanfiction Awards the voting poll is on their home page.

**A big thanks to Marcus S. Lazarus for the mermaid-mask idea – which will be cropping up more later on! **

**Twitter: NemmaW **


	50. Chapter 50 - Blood-typing

**Thank you for all the wonderful messages for the last chapter! Nemma x **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 50: Blood-typing – BPOV

The sun shone overhead, dappling through the leaves, as Jake and I walked a circuit in the lush green forest that encircled the Cullen property. We weren't going far, we never did, but we were spending some much needed time together. This had become a habit in the past few days and I was taking the time to teach Jake pieces of my – and Riana's – language, as well as sign. He wasn't as quick to pick either up as the Cullens were, but he was getting noticeably better as we progressed, and surprisingly he found the clickish mermish easiest – said it had similarities to Quileute. The point was he was _trying_.

I thought I knew who his inspiration might be too, as every time we took our walks ninety percent of the time was spent speaking about _her_.

"What did she say?" he asked now, "Did she ask about me today? Did she ask about the Pack? Was she curious? Did she… this? Did she… that?" In the end his questions blurred together until he stopped and sighed, simply asking, "Do you think that she _likes_ me?"

I paused, surveying his defeated form; shoulders slumped, face grim… Poor Jake.

"Riana is very close-lipped about her feelings to everyone," I clicked, "even me."

"You read each other's _minds_," he reminded me, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded, slowly. "And it would be a violation of her privacy if I were to divulge any information I accidentally gleamed from her."

"Oh, come on, Bells." He tossed up his arms. "Throw me a bone here."

"Sure, dog," I grinned, when he looked at me with reproach I added, "woof!"

"Harhar…" he sneered, though with no true malice, "Some best friend you are."

"Alright, I'll tell you this. If Riana does happen to think a particular way about you then she is going to be confused." I dropped the humour then, becoming serious. He sensed the change and frowned. "She may have only been in the Colony for a few months, but that can seem like a lifetime under the sea. I should know. It can be… _confusing_… in the hive-mind. Nothing is private, every opinion is known, and what little is your own can easily be twisted…" I trailed off, recalling too well how I had lost myself. The feeling made me shiver. "Mara has a very jaded view on men, and she tried to pass that on to me. She made me afraid to seek you or Edward out on land. She made a part of me feel that you would not want me once you saw me, that you would be disgusted by me, that you would hurt me."

He stiffened. "We would never-"

"I _know_," I stressed, when I saw his face. He looked so hurt. "I know that, _now_, but think – that was just what I was like after a few days amongst them, if they had that strong an effect on me, how do you think Riana will be feeling now?"

"Huh…" he said, though not with confusion, but consideration. He lapsed into silence and rubbed his chin as his brow indented. Likely he was losing himself in thought.

"You want me to talk you up?" I added with a smile to lighten the atmosphere. "I can tell her all about what a fierce werewolf you are. That's what best friends are for."

"Couldn't hurt," he smiled. "You'd be my wingman, Bells?" I clicked a laugh, then he became serious, "Actually, no… No, I think I can do this myself."

He did look like he could too. Confidence rolled off of him in waves. It was like the old days, before he changed and he was the only light in my dark life. My sun was shining again.

Only this time he shone for Riana.

I hoped she deserved him. I hoped they made each other happy. Both had had such hard lives and they deserved to have something to make it all easier, or at least worthwhile. They deserved what I had with Edward.

I watched Jake as we walked, sun fell through the trees and dappled his russet skin, and suddenly I wanted to hug him. I had missed him almost as much as I had missed Edward.

"Thank you, Jake," I said, drawing him to a halt and throwing my arms around his waist. He was warmer and firmer than I remembered, even with a black t-shirt on.

After a surprised moment, he hugged me back, gently patting my back.

"For what?" he smiled.

"Thank you for coming after me, thank you for not giving up. Edward told me about your searches, he told me everything. You and he… even when I…" Words failed me, but he seemed to understand. Drawing back, he placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"Anytime. I love you, always will even with Riana. Just in a different way than before."

With that he drew me into a classic Jake bone-crushing hug, making me laugh.

"I still don't approve of the vampire, though," he huffed as he set me down.

"Jake…" I warned.

"_But_… you could do worse. Mike Newton, for example, ugh!" He shivered theatrically.

"Wow, from you that's practically a glowering commendation."

"Don't tell him I said that, I don't want him to think that I like him or anything!"

He shivered again, this time with a genuine bit of acting, and I couldn't contain my snort. As he released me, I bumped his shoulder and we continued our walk.

"So," he clapped his hands, "tell me about her. Tell me about my imprint!"

"Hmm," I thought for a while… what could they relate about… Ah, yes! There was one thing. "Did you know that she collects shiny car-parts? Our cave is full of them!"

…

Time passed and mostly we were happy. At the house we had a steady stream of visitors: Mom and Phil, Charlie, Billy, Charlie, Sue and Seth, Charlie, even a few teachers from Forks. School friends came and went. I saw Angela and Ben, Mike and Jess. Even Tyler, Eric and Austin stopped by – all in a group, too scared to brave the Cullen House solo. Some of the boys brought flowers, which made Edward sigh and Esme smile as she took them to place in a vase, and Jess wanted 'details!' which Edward expertly deflected by offering her the mouth-watering cakes that Esme cooked specifically for the occasion. Angela then tactfully changed the topic. Even Charlie's colleague, Mark, came to visit with his wife. He had helped with the search, he told me, and was glad I was okay. All of these visits were stymied a bit by my lack of speech – Esme was still working with Jasper on fine-tuning 'the mask', apparently there had been some problem with its filtration system, so I had to rely on hand signing and Edward's translations. Which was ok. Even without her speech-impediment I was really feeling up to endorsing the lie about my disappearance. And I still had reservations about whether this mask thing would work or not.

But as things began to calm down and the good citizens of Forks dispersed, and we ran into the second week of Riana and Kali's stay, something began to change.

There was a tension in the air that had never been there before, one that had no obvious source or reason. I felt it itching under my skin, tingling, scratching into my bones, and it was unnerving. Riana felt it too, though she said nothing. It was obvious by her stance and the way she twitched constantly and couldn't sit still. In vain I tried to ignore it – but that only made it worse. It was hard to eat, I couldn't sleep, I tossed and turned in Edward's arms.

Edward asked me more than once what was wrong. I could only frown and shake my head. I had no idea. Riana had no obvious answer either; well, she spoke none aloud and I was still above prying into her mind for answers.

Perhaps we were sensing something, an underlying tension from the vampires around us that we never would have been attuned to as humans. That made me suspicious – were they keeping something from us? Had something happened with that Hunter or our sisters?

When I could take it no more I confronted Jasper and asked what was going on. Why was everything so tense? Had something happened? He only looked at me with confusion.

"You don't know?"

"No," I ground out, pressing a hand to my forehead. My irritation was spiralling out of control. "What is this? Why is everyone so… so… edgy?!"

"But it's coming from you…" he said slowly, with a note of worry. "Not us."

"What?" That didn't make sense. I had no reason to feel this agitated.

"Yes," he nodded, and I saw Edward enter the room behind him and slink to his side.

"But… I don't know why I'm feeling this way. I just don't know why!"

"Well, this… irritation… is stemming _solely_ from you." He turned his head, "And her."

Outside, Riana sat cross-legged at the tree-line on the front lawn, ripping apart tufts of grass with a frown. I nodded to Jasper and headed outside towards her. Edward made to follow but I placed a hand to his chest. "Let me, I got this." With a worried frown he nodded.

Kali sat with her, I noted as I approached, watching anxiously as more tufts met the same shredded fate. And caving my scruples, I snuck a peek at their minds. Kali's thoughts were tame but dominated by worry, but red coloured Riana's in erratic swirling shades. There were no words, but then none were needed to connote extreme anger. I slowed, wary in my approach. Perhaps it was because Jake was not here. Maybe she was feeling his absence. The two had been getting closer. But even as I reasoned that out, I knew that was not it.

"Hey, Riana," I clicked, stopping before her, "what's up?"

"What's up?" she sniggered, an entirely bitter sound. "How can you come here and ask me 'what's up?' I see your mind. I _know_ you feel it too."

"Feel what?"

"The reason for this…" she struggled, "_irritation_. Ugh! It never would have been this way in the sea. I never would have gone this long without. You feel it. Don't deny it!"

The way she snapped surprised me, but rather than hurt my feelings it only triggered my own roiling anger, which, these past few days, had always been close to boiling point.

"I'm denying nothing but I don't know what you're talking about! If you know why we're feeling this way, why won't explain?" I flicked to Kali's mind but she knew nothing.

Riana huffed with dark amusement. "You won't like it."

"Try me." I saw it then, the reason for all this angst. It grew clear and fully formed in her mind. "Oh…" This was not good.

"I warned you that this would happen," she said with quiet resignation. Then she looked up, her expression shrewd. "We _can_ do something about it, though."

"No," I said very clearly, "we can't."

The idea she had in her mind was distasteful to say the least, and _wrong_.

"But we _need_ to," she stressed, lurching to her feet with imploring eyes, "it's been nearly a month for me." Her voice pleaded in a way I had never heard from her before. "We could slip off the property, no one would ever know. It wouldn't take long. We could-"

"No!" I cut her off before she could finish and any of the Cullen's could hear. Even Edward might have caught something in that brief mental flash-

A feral snarl erupted. Riana's features morphed in anger: teeth bared, eyes flashing.

And she launched.

Everything became a blur. Nails clawed, limbs tangled and bruised. My fangs were out and snapping before I realised what I was doing. Our palms smacked and our legs kicked and our voices _screeched_. It was like I was apart from it, away from the fight, just watching as a disinterested observer; as if I were watching two strangers' battle on the Cullens' front lawn.

"Whoa, WHOA!" someone was yelling, "STOP!"

Hard arms tugged me back. I saw Riana being towed away by the same marble-white hands. Other faces surrounded us, confused faces. For a second I did not recognise them.

Then my energy sapped – and it was like a light-bulb popping.

Riana collapsed into a limp heap in Emmett's arms as I slumped into someone too.

"What the Hell is going on?" Emmett barked.

"I don't know," Edward gasped, and I understood that he was the one who was holding. "Her thoughts aren't making any sense. They're just vortexes of colour!"

"And rage," Jasper added from a distance. Through bleary eyes I saw him up in the doorway. Where was he keeping away? Was there blood? I didn't smell any… Ah, the anger.

Riana fell unconscious then, her head flopping back.

There was another noise. Kali was whimpering and clutching wads of her cornflower hair as she crouched in a ball by Rosalie, who anxiously tried and failed to comfort her.

There would be no answers forthcoming from them.

Rather cowardly I had hoped one of them would let it slip in their minds. If Edward had found out that way I would be obliged to say nothing, to do nothing, to take no further action. But my sisters were more secretive with their thoughts than I gave them credit for. He would hear nothing useful from them. And I, like Riana, could feel strength draining, skin paling.

Suddenly I was being turned to meet with Edward's anxious face.

"Bella, please," he begged, his topaz eye blazing, "Tell me what's wrong."

It took every ounce of strength left in me to lift my eyes to his, and I could not control the mix of self-loathing and hunger and the feeling of utter desolation that poured through me. I didn't want him to hate me, I couldn't stand his hate. But there was nothing else for it.

"T-the mermaids told me that I would need to feed on human blood in order to survive, do you remember me saying? I told you they had lied because I never seemed to need it?"

He gave the slightest of nods, and in the smallest voice I could muster I whispered the last words I had ever intended to say, the words that needed to be said.

"I was wrong," I went on. "We need to feed on human blood."

His eyes brightened and darkened simultaneously with understanding.

"Or we'll die."

…

It was eventually decided that Alice would go with Carlisle to retrieve blood-bags from the hospital while Edward and the others would remain at home with the blood-crazed mermaids.

"Riana," I muttered as Edward carried me inside. I was suddenly _so_ tired.

"She's okay," he said, holding me closer as he walked, "one of the others has her."

"And… Kali…?" It was getting harder to speak, to keep my eyes open.

"Rosalie," he said. No more explanation needed.

As people shuffled about, Jasper hovered quietly on the periphery of activity, shuffling his feet from side to side, until he finally muttered, "I'm going for a walk."

An hour later there was still no sign of him. I guess the idea of all that free-flowing human blood in the house was too much for him. I couldn't blame him. And then there was the issue of our duel thirsts. For safety's sake and for his own sanity he had gone.

Now he probably wouldn't return until long after dark.

That left: Rosalie, Emmett, Edward and Esme.

Rosalie had taken Kali, there was never any debate about that, and Emmett was sticking close by. From what I could gleam from Kali, she couldn't feel the irritation that both Riana and I felt – but she was feeding into our thought trains and that was enough to aggravate her.

Riana was another case. None of the Cullens had formed a particularly close bond with her since her arrival, although they had been nothing but accommodating. It's just that Riana's sole purpose in seeking us out had been to find me, so _I_ had been the closest of the family to her, and I was in no state to care for her either, since we were both drowning in the same mire, so to speak. Esme willingly took care-of-Riana duty and she easily carried the still unconscious red-head past me to her and Carlisle's room.

As she did Riana's eyes flitted open, "what… happen… in…"

"Blood is on the way," Edward said swiftly. "It will be here soon."

From his arms, I queried again, "Kali…?"

Riana was too tired to respond aloud. In her mind, she whispered, _She will not undergo this. Remember what I told you? We crave blood at a certain stage of our reproductive cycles. Kali was turned too young, she does not crave it the way mature-bodied mermaids do_.

_But, _my thoughts jolted,_ this did not happen after we smelt those men at First Beach. We craved the blood then too. _

In her thoughts she shook her head. _Not the same, they smelled good, yes, but we did not need the blood then, not as we do now. And right now any blood will do_.

During our talk she had vanished with Esme. Edward walked alone into his spacious bathroom with me tucked close. He silently set the taps running, adding the requisite salt, and stepped into the tub fully-clothed while holding me and set us down – just like he did at bath-time. A vague tingle began in my legs as they melded together and the tail blossomed from beneath my dress. For an instant I wondered why we were in here, then I realised that this had helped the last time I had fallen sick. Perhaps Edward was hoping that it would help again.

I was very aware of every motion his body made, which was how I knew when Carlisle and Alice were back. He stiffened, and quietly said, "In the bathroom."

"Good," Alice's voice suddenly said, "it's going to get messy. Turn her to face me."

I hadn't even seen here arrive. She had just 'appeared' in true vampire fashion. Edward complied without a word. Then Alice was crouching at our sides with a packet a red liquid clutched in one hand. One dainty finger titled my chin up. "Open up," she coaxed.

I pressed my lips shut and turned my head away while my stomach snarled in protest. It could _smell_ that delicious tang through the plastic, and it knew what it needed. Ugh!

The refusal made my skin physically _ache_ all over. Knowing how close I was to the nutrients I required but denying the thirst was a painful thing. But my sister needed to drink first. I wouldn't until she had. I knew that she was a lot further along than I was and it was _my fault_. She had abstained because of me! I hadn't realised how bad it would feel, how bad it could get. I had not listened. And as honourable as I knew Edward to be I knew that he would still see me fed before her. I couldn't have that.

I projected images of Riana feeding first towards his mind. It had not worked in the past, but perhaps now… No nothing. His beautiful face was blank. So I raised shaky hands to sign. They blurred before my eyes – numb and fumbling and useless.

Who knew you could slur sign?

He sighed in exasperation. "Always the altruist." Ah, so he did understand – my man knew me too well. "Carlisle has given some to Esme, and Emmett met them at the door. Kali doesn't appear to need it… and that is what she is telling Rosalie at this moment. She's much calmer now. Riana is drinking her supply as I speak and is already the better for it." Cupping my chin, he turned my head back to Alice, "Please, Bella, drink."

I needed no more motivation than that. I was guzzling down the first packet and nearly finished the second before I even realised that it was at my lips. I wasn't messy, but I wasn't neat either, in my haste a few drops escaped and dripped down the side of my lips.

Edward easily wiped them away with a finger but before he could move away I leant forward and kissed the bloody patch, deftly stealing the drops back with a flick of my tongue.

Wow, already I felt so much better; no more anger, no irritation, no pain…

Then my mind focussed. How was Alice dealing with this? Surely this was torture?

"Oh," Alice suddenly gasped.

Following their gazes I looked down and my mouth dropped open.

The scales on my tail were _bleeding_. No wait, _not_ bleeding… changing. There was no blood in the water, it was clear. The scales of my tail were changing hue to a very distinct and very dark crimson. It didn't look normal; it was odd, unnatural, the strangest shade of red I had ever seen. The closest comparison I could think of was a deep red wine Renee had favoured when we lived in Phoenix called Maroon Skies. Yes, Maroon, that what it was.

The maroon seeped down until it filled every scale but it didn't stop there, it proceeded to dye the fin membranes as well, with a slightly lighter, translucent form of the colour.

Incapable of doing anything else, I just watched its progress in amazement. By the time it had traversed the length of my tail, I resembled something close to a bejewelled sceptre, each individual scale its own ruby. They had never glimmered this vibrantly before.

"Did you-" Edward said and stopped, assessing my reaction, "no, you didn't know."

"Err, is everyone seeing this?" Esme called from the further reaches of the house.

"Yeah, we're seeing it," Edward said in a normal tone. His voice betrayed nothing and I found myself desperately wanting to know what he was thinking, but I was too scared to ask.

"Is this normal?" Esme called.

All I could do was shrug; I had no frame of reference for this situation.

"Didn't this happen when you drank before?" Edward questioned gently.

I recoiled slightly. "Never drank before," I said in short, clipped words.

It was a natural thing to drink and I'm sure any newborn vampire or mermaid wouldn't have denied the need as long as I had, but still, Edward's assumption that I had, hurt.

"Sorry, love," he said with a quick kiss to my brow, "I shouldn't have assumed…"

Emotions roiling, I breathed a shaky sigh and quietly reached out to the ice-box beside Alice. It was too far for me but she understood what I wanted and handed over another bag.

It was only when Alice's hands enclosed over mine as I tried and failed to hold onto the next blood-bag, that I realised I was shivering, shivering _badly_, and it was getting worse.

"What's wrong?" Edward was quick to panic.

Again I didn't know what was wrong. I had what I needed, so did my sister – that should make me happy and well. Instead I was on the verge of a breakdown.

Shaking my head, I squeezed my eyes shut. My teeth tore into the plastic packaging – so fragile against my newly budded fangs – and drained the liquid red that was a life source to my system. The blood coursed down my gullet, warming and soothing as it went.

Everything amplified: brighter, louder. The taste buds burst on my palette, relishing the sweet tang of red iron and my skin prickled along every square inch. Everything was so much more intense and much more overwhelming. My body was practically thrumming with life.

"I think this is all too much for her," Alice whispered.

I was sucking in great choking breaths. Was I hyperventilating? That had happened before, at Volterra, back when I was human. Then Alice had suggested that Edward slap me.

This was ridiculous; it was just one more change in a series of changes. A red tail was hardly the scariest thing that had ever happened to me. Gritting my teeth, I resolutely forced back the sobs to whatever dark recess of my mind they had emerged from. At first I didn't have much success but with persistence they slowed and steadied. It was progress. My throat felt raw and my teeth ached. The effort was exhausting in a whole new way.

"Bella, stop this," Edward said, his voice stern and firm in a way I had never heard.

Water splashed as I twisted to look up at him, confused. Stop what? My behaviour was odd, I knew, I had no reason to react this way, it was weak and unfounded and I needed to hammer it down before it built to a crescendo. I tried harder while his frown deepened.

There… It was gone – Whatever _it_ was.

I silently admonished myself for my loss of control. Mermaids restrained themselves better than this, mermaids _did not feel_, but then I'd never been a very good mermaid.

"Love," Edward sighed, touching my cheek, "if you need to cry, don't force it back."

Cry… was that what he thought I was about to do?

Holding my features blank, I answered with complete apathy, "Mermaids can't cry."

One more glaringly defining feature of my supernatural state… The thought was full of bitterness.

Edward's frown lightened, "Then what do you call this?"

As he pulled his hand back I stared. A crystalline droplet clung to his fingertip; a tear.

But… no, it couldn't be. Mermaids couldn't cry.

_Just like they cannot feel?_ Another part of my mind taunted – So many lies.

One single briny drop, it glistened so innocently, the water untainted and pure. _Not like me, I have blood on my hands that won't wash off_. With that the wall of the dam broke and a tidal wave was unleashed. I couldn't stem the saltwater then, even if I could try.

I cried, heaving great heart-broken sobs as my eyes blurred and images merged. I cried for all that had happened, for my unwanted and unwelcome transformation. I cried for my sisters born of venom if not blood and for all the heartaches they had endured. I cried for Edward and what I had put him and our families through. I cried for the losses at First Beach on both sides, for the war I had started, and the unnecessary bloodshed. Selfishly, I cried for myself and for everything _I_ had lost. I cried because I had been parted from those I loved for four excruciatingly long weeks. I cried because I was a monster and I was monstrous. I cried because I drank blood that should have made me queasy and didn't. I cried because I wanted to drink blood as a vampire and not as a mermaid. I cried because none of this was fair.

I cried because I couldn't _not_ cry.

I cried because I _could_.

And I cried because Edward was here. I had sworn never to cry in front of him again – the day I had cried for Jake. But I needed him, badly. Edward stayed with me through it all, clutching me as we weathered the storm together. Even when the sobbing fit slowed to mere whimpers, the saltwater didn't slow, it continued to fall and stain his shirt. He didn't care. And by his side, Alice stroked my hair, trying to soothe me the only way she knew how.

By the end, I was weary. My aching eyes drooped and fell as I relaxed into Edward.

The torrent of tears had been wearing on us both, and as I heard his tired sigh, I knew that if Edward could have slept, he would have done so now.

…

**Okay, a little sad... but at least that blood-craving got sorted, right? And the Cullens know just that little bit more about how to look after their mermaid family members. **

**Fanatic Awards News: SS did not make it to the second round of voting, cue sigh. But, I passed to the finals for Fav Newbie Author. Yay! I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude for everyone who voted – that you did meant so much, thank you (and I saw the numbers! Hugs! :D). It was you guys who got me there. Voting has now started for the finals, and goes on only until midnight **_**this**_** Sunday! So please think of me when casting your votes (I need more now as I'm competing against some big names). And you never know, maybe we can get further. Hope you guys all have a great week. Nemma x **


	51. Chapter 51 - Solitude

**Thank you for all of the messages again! So, um, people have been asking for a scene… sort of like this… for a while… Happy reading! Nemma x **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 51: Solitude – BPOV

"So, the requisite blood thing was real," I said to Riana as we walked the forest's edge at the back of the Cullen property, "you weren't lying when you said we could not go without it."

"No," she said, pausing to watch the water flow through the Sol Duc river.

The current was fast today after a night of rain, and the river glistened and sparkled. We were spending a little time together before she, Kali and the others departed. They were leaving on various errands; a pretence I was sure. And Edward and I would have the house to ourselves. The thought made me blush, remembering the last time we had been here, alone. But it wasn't like he could whisk me away for a weekend get-away at some romantic exotic location. There were too many risks involved. So if we wanted alone time, it had to be here.

I shook my head. "I must admit that, for a while, I thought you were just telling me that to integrate me into the Colony, to get me to co-operate with Mara's rules."

"It is a necessity for all mermaids, even those with legs it seems." She knelt down to touch the water. It flowed across her pale hand like silk. I wondered if it felt the same as sea-water did for us. I never had tried… "You got your way in the end though," she said. "Like your Cullens, we do not have to kill to attain nourishment, there are other ways."

"Other _ways_," I frowned, "plural?"

"You have heard before of how other colony's feed?" she asked, as she tossed her mane of red hair across one shoulder. "Some take willing hosts to get the blood they need, those couplings can be… _intimate _in nature, though not always. The feeding can end in the man's death, or it cannot. He _can_ be left alive. If a mermaid is taught properly she can coax a man to allow her to feed from him and then she can wipe his memory of the experience. It was a while before I discovered this in the hive-mind. The information was there but hidden deep. Mara had hidden it. She does not like the idea of leaving our meals alive."

"You did not tell me this before," I noted, "while I was seeking other ways to feed."

She sighed. Leaning back on her heels, she frowned down at the water, at her reflection.

"I did not know then. But once your mind was set I started to think, I started to delve for information. I heard once, during my search, that long in the past mermaids were known as _sjó__söngvarar_, back then they would take one male for their own – one whose blood sang the strongest. He would be both mate and provider. He would feed her when she needed to feed, and protect her from the darker side of humanity. It's a nice notion, even if it is a myth."

She shrugged then. "I did not tell you before because I found out the night before we went to First Beach. There were other things and our minds, and after that…" she trailed away, but she did not need to finish. After that I had been captured and taken away.

"Some myths are based in truth," I said, thinking of Jake's old scary stories. He had told me them in ignorance of their truth. We had both been so naïve back then, so young.

"Hmm," she said, seemingly lost in thought. Then she frowned down at a leaf that went floating past. "I understand that Jacob Black has a strong aversion to blood-feeders."

"Not all of them," I said slowly, "not me, not Kali. He's grown closer to Edward recently too. And then there's you." My lips quirked. "I think he has a soft spot for you too."

For the first time since we started she looked back, her expression condescending.

"And _I_ think you know more about what he thinks than you say."

I shrugged. "I would be a sorry excuse for a best friend if I blurted all of his secrets."

"Uh-huh," she said, and returned to her watching.

More leaves floated past. They weren't all green; some were yellow or tinged with red and bronze and gold – autumn colours, autumn leaves. The year was progressing towards winter fast. Soon this entire river would be frozen over.

Mara had once told me that our emotions froze upon our change, that that was why we felt nothing. That was also why we cried no tears; our ducts were as frozen as our hearts.

"Riana, I thought mermaids couldn't cry."

"_Couldn't_ is the wrong word. A more accurate one would be rarely, or infrequently. When we do it's bad. We tend to collect our tears and hold them back, so when one breaks through a tidal wave follows." She paused, looking to the sky. Fluffy clouds flew overhead. "I've only ever cried twice," she said. By the way she said it I knew she meant as a mermaid. "Once was just after I was changed, when Mara tried to explain what I was. I got a half-patched explanation that day. She grew angry and left me alone in the dark. It took days for me to venture out. That was why I came to _you_ that first day; so you didn't have to deal with that."

That little revelation curled warmly in my heart. She really was a good friend…

"I'm not too surprised you had that reaction after drinking," she went on, and it took a moment for me to understand that she meant my tears. Of course she had heard that; the entire town might well have heard that. A blush heated my cheeks. "Blood heightens the senses, and makes everything more…" She searched for a word, "_more_. That's why feeding is often combined with coupling – the heightened feeling. When we do not feel at other times the sudden extreme is… disorienting, and confusing." She smiled a little. "You're such a masochist that you bottle things up, you hold them in until the pressure is too much, not to mention the fact that you literally _starved_ yourself of blood for the entire time you were with the Colony. Hate to say I told you so, but I did. You should have drunk something earlier."

"Don't you mean some_one_?" I said rather cruelly.

She laughed; it was a bitter sound. "Say it how you like, you still should have drunk."

"Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"-Yeah you did," she waved me away unperturbed. "You say what you mean, you're honest, mostly, and I like that about you. There's no second guessing, which is a refreshing change from our sisters, with them you always have to be on your toes… or rather fins."

Yes, even with no barriers between our minds the sisters plotted and schemed. It was harder to work around when all could glimpse your own thoughts in a flash but not impossible. And Mara – our supposed Mother – blocked her mind away altogether.

"Kali is not like them," I noted vehemently.

"Okay, except Kali," Riana easily agreed. "You, me and Kali against the entire mermaid race. Wow, those odds suck."

She lapsed into silence and after a while I took a seat beside her, watching the river too.

"Have you… ever…" She looked to me and I could feel my cheeks heating. "You said that feeding is often combined with… err… And you _have_ fed before, so…"

"Lord no!" she scoffed, then snorted, then grimaced. "Actually I've only fed on two occasions, both with Lilith, both like the time you found that phone and rang home…" She lapsed into thought. "Lilith made the kills and… I cried the first time I fed…"

"I'm sorry," I muttered, feeling a weight of guilty for bringing it up, and for pre-judging her.

"No problem. So," she chimed, suddenly brighter, "while you and Edward have your weekend _alone_-" Her eyebrows waggled wickedly. "-Rosalie and Emmett are taking Kali to the 'safer' east coast to swim in the sea. They invited me too but Jake wants to take me before his council." She tipped her chin regally. "I am to speak on our people's behalf."

I blinked, stunned. This was the first I had heard of this!

"Are you sure about that? I mean, will you be okay there on Quileute land?"

Thoughts of Balthazar flickered between us. The danger he presented went unsaid.

"Oh yes, I will be fine. Jasper and Carlisle have agreed to accompany me but I have to ask… do _you_ think it's a good idea? Should I try to 'broker peace'?"

I slowly thought my answer through before speaking. "Jasper and Carlisle will guard you well. And Jake would never let _anything_ happen to you."

"Yes, I get that feeling…" she frowned, "though I do not understand why."

"I'm sure you will understand in time."

Her thoughts flickered to mine with a suddenness I was not expecting, but I hid my deeper knowledge of Jake well – that was his secret to tell, she wouldn't hear of it from me.

"Indeed," her lips quirked as she rose, "well, best be off, wars to fight, races to save…"

With my gaze I followed her into the house. She and the others would leave soon and then, finally, Edward and I would get our night alone. Hopefully without interruptions.

The house vacated more quickly than I thought it would, with most of its residents bustling into cars. Esme, Rosalie and Emmett were taking his new blue jeep to the eastern coastline so that Kali could swim away from Mara's Colony. Rosalie didn't say it, but she was terrified that her little niece would be taken by the sea-people again. I could see that. I thought it also might scare her just as much that Kali might _want_ to go back. Kali said nothing either way, she just seemed happy to be going on a vacation. Carlisle, Jasper, Alice and Riana were heading over to the boundary at La Push to meet Jake, and after the council meeting they planned to go on a short hunting trip while one of them stayed with Riana, probably Carlisle. All in all, they planned to only be gone overnight – leaving Edward and I in the house alone.

It wouldn't be the first time we had ever been alone here, there had been plenty of times before, but this time felt different somehow, expectant. Being around him had felt different ever since the night Riana and Kali turned up. The night we had nearly-

"You have everything that you need," Esme said, suddenly in front of us on the steps, "the fridge is full of fish, there is a new stock of seawater in the second garage. There's…"

"Mother, I'm over one hundred years old," Edward gently reminded her. "I think I can manage to take care of us both for one night."

"Yeah you can," came Emmett's voice, thick with insinuation.

Esme scowled over her shoulder at him and he retreated into the jeep's window.

"You have our numbers and you…" she trailed away at Edward's withering look, and smiled. "A mother is allowed to worry," she said fondly, touching his cheek. "Take care. I love you both." She hugged both of us and then flitted to Carlisle's Mercedes.

The cars disappeared quickly then, and Edward and I were left alone.

I didn't know what to do first, or what to say; should I wait for him to speak? Should I break the quiet? With a peripheral peek I saw that he too was a little stumped. He rubbed the back of his neck, not directly looking my way, but glancing in just the same way that I was.

Awkwardness crackled between us and it suddenly made me laugh.

He looked at me directly then, his eyebrows quirked in question. I explained, "You'd think that after knowing each other for so long we wouldn't be acting like this was a first date. This is exactly how we acted last time they left; we were on the front steps then too."

Edward laughed too, and the awkwardness seemed to fade as he eyed me wonderingly and repeated those same words as last time. "So, Bella, what do you want to do today?"

"Can we go to your room?"

I didn't realise how thick with insinuation those words sounded until they were out. I had meant them innocently enough.

"T-there are some CD's of yours, the ones by that eighties Jazz artist you mentioned, we we're going to listen to them ages ago, but we never got the chance…"

I was blushing now, I couldn't help it, and his slowly growing crooked grin was not helping things. Then his grin softened, "I'd like that, Bella."

We spent much of the afternoon up there going through album after album, listening to the lilt and flow of the rhythms as we lazed on the bed, my head in his lap, his fingers running through my hair. From Jazz we moved onto some newer orchestral pieces, from rock we went to soundtracks, or OST's (original film scores, he explained), of films that had been released in the last few years. Some of his tastes surprised me, like _300_ and _Terminator: Salvation_. I hadn't expected that he would like those kinds of films. When I said as much, staring up from the pillow of his lap, he just shrugged saying he liked the music, not necessarily the films.

"What's not to like about 300?" I mock-gasped. "There's war, politics, embellished heroic speeches, dramatic swirly stunts."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Dramatic swirly stunts?"

Edward was propped up against the head-board, his arm pillowing the back of his head.

I ignored his tone, and sniffed. "Plus, it's history. The 300 are a legend."

"Yes," he said, his tone thick with sarcasm, "because _300_ is a completely historically accurate representation of said history."

I tried to suppress my smile. "Are you telling me Edward that Giant God-kings bathed in gold _didn't_ fight on the Persian front-lines?"

He tilted his head, eyes alight with amusement. "I'm sorry to say, Bella, that no, they did not."

I made my tone flippant. "Well that changes my entire perspective on history then."

We laughed lightly until the sound faded and music once again filled the room – the track had changed onto something softer now and I moved from his lap to lie my head on the pillow. He shimmied down the headboard to the opposite pillow too, and faced me with his signature smile in place. I had missed spending time with him like this; this is what we used to do after school, just laze around in his room, sometimes doing homework. I remembered how he would tutor me when I got stuck on certain bits of calculus – it was never my strongest subject – but I also remembered how, once, he had talked to me about an English essay he was due to write and I had noted how a new book I'd read would be a perfect new perspective for his topic. He had been surprised, he had not heard of the author, and promptly order a copy of his latest works. He had found it useful and soon after used it in his assignment. I had felt like his equal then. I had helped him out too.

I was smiling at the memory, and turning my head to remind him of it, when I caught his face: brow indenting, frown in places – his brooding face.

"Edward?" I clicked, reaching over to touch his hand.

His eyes drifted back to the present and he looked at my hand, saying nothing. Turning his palm up, he took it and cradled it in his, playing with the fingers. I waited.

"Jacob had a history with you," he said, "one that I never knew existed."

Jacob? I hadn't even been thinking about him. What had brought this on?

"Edward," I said carefully, "I have told you everything about me and Jacob, while you were away we were nothing but friends, and afterwards I only kissed him that-"

He shook his head, stopping me, and I waited patiently until he released a slow breath.

"I meant from when you two were very young, children. When you would visit Forks to see Charlie in the summer, you spent time with Jacob and his sisters in La Push."

"Yes, I did, though my memories of those times are quite vague. I _was_ very young."

"Jacob's memories aren't vague," he said, and whatever he was thinking seemed to be painful, "when we were searching for you, I spent a lot of time with him, a lot of time in his head. I heard, I saw, those memories. I saw _you_ as a child…" He turned to me then and his eyes were both soft and sad. "You know, he loved you even then."

I had suspected. I remembered the valentine's card…

"Jacob Black will always mean a great deal to me," I said, truthfully. "I've told you this. But _you_ are the one I've chosen. _You_ are the one I love. And I would never change that."

"Besides," I added, aiming for flippancy now, "he has Riana now, his _imprint_. I don't think that you have to worry about him trying to steal me away anymore."

I thought to lighten the tone but it wasn't working. He still wore his brooding face.

"You're not regretting not taking your chance with him when you could have?" he said. He tried to make his tone joking but he could not hide the sadness he felt. It was plain to hear, and see, the corners of his lips clenched with it as he tried to hold onto his smile.

"No," I said, and sitting up I climbed onto his laps and went to hold both of his cheek; smooth flesh beneath my palms – silk over steel, "because that would mean regretting you, and I could never in all of my life, do that." It wasn't enough, I could see even as I spoke.

"I might have considered Jake as an option when you were gone, when I thought-" the words were difficult to say "-when I believed that you did not want me. But even then I knew that I could not make him happy. I would have tried, but I knew that in time I would have made us both miserable. I would have pined for you for the rest of my life, Edward."

His eyes closed, shutting me off and he rubbed his face. "I'm so sorry, Bella."

"No more sorrys, not for that." I placed my fingers to his lips. "I was just making a point. Something is troubling you about him, though. I'd have thought that now, after Riana, he would have been the last person that you were concerned about. So what is it?"

His topaz eyes opened then, and bored straight into mine.

"You need blood."

Well that was unexpected.

"Err… I'm quite fine at the moment, thank you," I said, shifting uneasily on his lap. Feeling a little uncomfortable I tried for humour, "No freaky cravings today!"

"I heard Riana's thoughts," he said, ignoring that last. "Earlier, she was remembering when she told you about mermaids. Historically, they would take… mates," -that word, on his lips, made me shiver a little- "human men, who would protect and take care of them."

"You already do that for me."

"And _take care_ of them," he emphasised, and now his eyes were blazing. "Jacob is flesh and blood; he can do that for Riana." He paused. "I cannot do that for you."

I did not quite understand, and he must have realised, because he sighed deeply. "I am stone; no malleable skin, no heated flesh, no blood. I cannot give you blood."

Oh… Oh!

He meant that I could not feed from _him_. That thought had not even occurred to me before, but Edward had been thinking… Blood flooded my cheeks, heating my cold flesh in what little way it could these days. No doubt he noticed, no matter how little I blushed.

The idea of it seemed so strange, and yet so intimate at the same time. Me, taking his blood like he had once taken mine – it would connect us in a very tangible way… I was suddenly very aware that I was still perched across his lap, legs on either side of his.

I pushed past the embarrassment, rallying my thoughts. "But you already do that, don't you see?" I said, slowly meeting his eyes. They were dipped, hidden beneath lashes – just as shy. "Who listened to what I needed and got the blood-bags?" I persisted.

"Not the same," he muttered, looking to the quilt at our side.

"Isn't it? Who carried me when I could not walk? Who learned sign and taught me when I could not speak? _You_, that's who. You provide for me, you care for me, you love me," I smiled, softly. "All of those things – they define a… true mate, do they not?"

He still wasn't looking up, so I touched his chin, coaxing his gaze up to mine. I never could have managed alone, but he allowed it. And when his eyes met mine they were swirling pools of liquid amber: warm and loving and a little scared.

"We never have done things in the traditional sense though, have we?" I reasoned with a small smile. "As couples go we like to make our own rules."

I didn't think then, I just acted, I leaned in closer until my lips brushed against his.

The kiss was careful, tentative, a ghost of a touch – just a way to let him know how much I loved him. But as our lips parted and he breathed out, the sweetness of his scent swaddled my senses. It was dizzying, a heady mixture of honey and haze and desire.

Of their own volition my lips returned to his, pressing down harder, with meaning.

I barely registered what I was doing at first; it was instinct, pure and simple. But when he rose up to cradle the back of my head and press his lips more firmly to mine, it was like fire exploded in my vein, burning my skin wherever he touched and racing to my heart, which took off, exploding into a beat for us both. His hand went to my leg, pulling me closer.

And suddenly his touch was everywhere: on my bare arms, my neck, my cheeks, as our lips moved together. He was pulling me closer, I was pulling myself closer, meeting him.

Flush against him I gasped for breath as his lips descended to my neck, peppering a path of flame until he met my ever-present gills. He seemed to slow then, returning to himself if only a little, and, with infinite gentleness he placed a tender kiss on one set and then moved to the other side to place one there too – giving them equal treatment.

"I've missed you," he breathed, hands trailing down my spine, "I've missed _this_."

My thoughts were nowhere near as articulate as his.

"This," I tugged at his shirt, "off."

I wanted to feel him against me, skin to skin, matching length for length, the way we used to do in the nights before the wedding, before I had been taken by Mara.

To my surprise he complied quickly and without hesitation, disentangling himself only enough to unbutton the fabric. Where were all of his qualms now? I was so used to being told no when I asked. But there was no 'no' now – as he fluidly pulled the dark shirt over his head, ruffling his bronze-tipped hair, everything about his actions screamed 'yes!'

I barely registered the urge to ask about this dramatic – and dammit welcome! – change, before his lips were attacking mine again. Then I was lost. Everything was movement and heat and the pounding of my heart in my ears. If I was cold-blooded how could I feel so hot? And before I could blink he had twisted our positions, flipping my back onto the mattress in one swift sleek manoeuvre and then he was hovering over me in the dark.

Night had drawn in and we had yet to turn on the lights, and in the dark his amber eyes blazed, their shade darkening to sienna to burnt umber to black, even as I gazed. There was his predatory look, and the sight of it set warm shivers quivering along my skin.

He was pressed to me, one hand on my hip hitching my leg over his while the other was on the mattress beside my head – holding most of his weight off me.

My breaths were erratic, his inhalations were heavy, and electricity practically sparked between us like live wires.

"Please tell me that no more wayward mermaids are going to come stumbling out of the forest this time," he grated.

I laughed, my breaths fast. "No promises. There are _a lot_ of girls in that colony."

He groaned, pressing his forehead to mine. "Tonight is ours," he said, his voice thick and husky, verging on a growl. "Tonight it's just you and me."

His lips fell to mine again and this time it was no sudden attack of desire, but a purposeful manoeuvring. The way he moved them over mine, with mine, was determined.

"Wait," I gasped, before all clarity was lost.

"What for?" he groaned. The sound rumbled from his chest and I had to laugh – though the sound was low and shaky.

His lips quickly claimed mine, silencing them and drawing me back to-

"No, really, wait."

This time I pressed my hands to his chest. Perhaps I could have pushed him away, I had much greater strength now, but I didn't need it. He sighed, pulling back.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I did not mean to be so forward I-"

As he spoke he climbed off me and I immediately hated the absence. He wouldn't meet my gaze but I could hear in his voice the disappointment and the guilt and… I could already see the self-recriminations starting behind his eyes. He'd thought he'd been pushing me?

"-No," I cut him off quickly. "That's not it."

Quickly flipping off the bed I headed for the walk-in wardrobe.

"There's something I want to give you…" I pulled the doors open and immediately went to the back, riffling through the menagerie of boxes there until I came across the one I was searching for. It was a package Alice had shown me days before. Collecting it, I brought it back to the bed where Edward still sat looking all sweet and ruffled and bewildered.

I took a deep breath and placed it in his lap.

"What is this?" Edward asked, picking it up. It was covered in a bin-liner – to keep out the smell, Alice said. I gestured for him to open it.

When the black plastic fell away he held in his hands the belt I had worn at the colony.

Out of the sea it did smell a little bad… the weed it was made from had dried, crusting in the air. But it was what was inside that counted. I reached to a side-pocket and pulled out the necklace, and taking the rest of the belt from him I placed that in his hand.

"This is a shark tooth from my first hunt," I explained. "Mermaids have a tradition of taking some kind of trophy from their kills; it's supposed to bring luck. Mara kept the jaw for the Colony's wall…" Now I was babbling. "I know it's weird but…"

"No," he said slowly, eyeing the thing, "It's not weird."

"Good, because I would like for you to have it." Now I was shy. I never had given him anything before, it was far past time I did, and this… well it meant something.

He blinked, his eyes returning to mine. "You want to give me this?"

He looked confused as if he didn't understand why, and so I began to babble.

"Mermaids believe that mementos like this protect the ones we gift them to… The ones we love… Not that you _need_ protection… Oh, it's silly-" I cut myself off, reaching to take it back from him. He instantly held it out of range, away from me.

Frowning, I looked at him in question. Surely he didn't really want it?

"Thank you," he said, closing his fist around the leather, "I'll treasure it."

The easy acceptance made me feel oddly proud – was that the way he felt when I finally accepted his gifts…?

"You know," I said, "in mermaid culture and in many human ones, I've heard that the exchanging of gifts of significant sentimental value between partners, is, in itself, considered to be a kind of wedding ceremony." My cheeks were heating again then, and that electric spark he had inspired was still present, thrumming beneath my skin – it had not truly gone away. "Just of a less… flamboyant style." I shrugged. "You've already given me the ring."

"I have," he said, his eyes fixing to mine.

"And… I'm not a fragile little human anymore…"

"I know."

I didn't really want to talk after that. His voice was deep like molten silk, his other hand was resting on my leg again, and his eyes were that hungry shade of black.

But there was one more thing I needed to say, and swallowing hard, I found my voice.

"You said before that you didn't want to wait anymore… is that still true?"

My eyes were locked to his, ensnared, and my lungs were failing to breathe, but still I noticed the almost imperceptible dipping of his head. Then my heart really took off, beating for all it was worth.

… 

**So, um, yeah… anyway! We're going to hear from Jake next chapter – and see how he takes Riana being in the werewolves' lands.**

**Fanatic Awards: Again, thank you to everyone who voted! You got me into the finals! I saw the numbers and I really do appreciate everyone who took the time to head over there. *cyber cookies to you all – of the delicious chocolate chip kind* ;) **

**Hope you guys all have a great week. Nemma x **


	52. Chapter 52 - The Council Hut

**I'm back! At least long enough to post this whilst frantically sorting RL stuff. :s Thank you so much for the very supportive reviews and PM's I received. They meant a lot and I'm sorry if I missed replying to any, but I read them all with a smile. Happy 100,000+ views! :) **

**Oh, and remember those mermaid names you guys sent as suggestions a way back? Another two are appearing ahead, so keep your eyes open. Enjoy the Jake and Riana fluffiness. Nemma x **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 52: The Council Hut – JPOV

_This was a bad idea_, Jake thought as he led the way towards the council's hut in the middle of the forest. Riana wandered up behind him, flanked by Jasper and Carlisle, and he could feel her presence like the warm heat of the sun on the back of his neck, so alive, so real.

None of his brothers would ever hurt her, he knew. As soon as he had phased that night after meeting her, on their way back to La Push, the intrinsic knowledge of his imprint had flowed amongst them like water, weaving into the heart of the Pack. Sam, it seemed, had already guessed. Leah had just sighed, weary of it all as she padded along. Seth had been pleased, but then he was always pleased. Quil and Embry had given him mental pats on the back whilst _almost_ managing to subdue their thoughts about how this would stop him hurting over Bella. And Jared had been surprised but easily accepted it. In fact, Paul was the most shocked of them all and he had fallen into complete silence, even in his head.

They had all accepted it though, instantly. There was no other way. And Jake knew that they would fight to the death to protect an imprint, whoever's they were. However, Balthazar and his men had no such obligation to keep. And he was taking her straight to him.

_I must be mad._

But if there was ever to be any peace (and any chance for him), this had to be done.

"It's just up ahead," he murmured, looking back to the Doc, who nodded seriously.

The one beside him, the blond warrior, said nothing, and Riana kept her eyes on her feet. What was she thinking? Right now, he'd give his newly re-built Rabbit to know.

Jake pushed away a leafy branch and saw the hut in the clearing head.

"There it is," he said, turning to her. "You ready for this?"

Moonlight dappled her pale skin through the tree canopy and in the dark her hair was almost as red as blood. Her beautiful green eyes were wide now, pinned on the hut ahead, and her hands washed one another restlessly – a clear sign of distress. Jake wanted to step up to her, to touch her hand or rub her arm or… well, something. Just to let her know it would all okay, that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. But she probably wouldn't appreciate that. She hardly knew him, and their peoples had been on opposite sides of a battle not long ago.

So he was grateful when Carlisle moved to kneel before her, taking her hands in his – even if the snarly wolfish side of him internally growled, warning him to _back the hell off!_

"We'll be right there beside you the entire time," the Doc said smoothly. "If you feel too uncomfortable, or if you wish to leave at any point, just let us know and we will go."

The warrior, Jasper, eyed Jake meaningfully then. He got the message, and frowned. "If she wants to leave the res I won't let them stop you."

As if he would let them do anything to her, she was… everything now. His world.

His heart burned with the knowledge of it and slowly, Jasper nodded. Damn empath.

When he flipped back the doorway covering and led the way into the shadowy interior of the Council's hut, it was to find Balthazar in the middle of an argument with the Council, again. But a hush fell over the entire gathering as they saw those that trailed Jake in.

"I've brought Riana of the _sjó__söngvarar_," Jake announced aloud, hating the Old World formality, "to speak with the Council on her people's behalf. Accompanying her are Carlisle and Jasper of the Cullen Clan, who have permission to accompany her over the borders."

He'd barely finished before Balthazar started to stride towards him, his gaze pinned fixedly over Jake's shoulder.

"A land-born mermaid," he gasped, with an eerily acquisitive glint in his eyes. "You captured one? Excellent! Well done, boy. I will only be a moment. I just need to collect my implements and I'll be ready to question her within minutes."

"Hold on," Jake said, snagging his arm in an iron-grip before he could leave the hut, "you are not to leave. The council in session." His arm shook with the strain it took _not_ to pulverize the man's arm in his grip like he so dearly wanted to. "But more importantly," he added on a growl, "she came here of her own free will. She is _not_ to be interrogated. Now sit back down."

When Balthazar did not move and his lips hardened, Sam called, "Sit down, man!"

Once he did, and Jake had made sure that Riana was securely positioned between Jasper and Carlisle, he approached the bench where Sue, his dad and old Quil sat – the three councillors.

"Riana is here to give testimony, will you hear her?"

They nodded and Old Quil gestured with one hand. "Come forward, sea daughter."

She did, after a brief glance at Carlisle. He gave her an encouraging smile and she stumbled forward. Jake itched to reach out and steady her, but clenched his fists by his side.

"You are here to speak on behalf of your people?" Sue coaxed.

She nodded quickly, wide-eyed; looking very much the mouse amongst a sea of snakes.

"Err," Embry raised his hand where he sat on the floor. "How is she going to speak?"

Carlisle stepped forward. "Bella has taught me some of their tongue, enough for me to translate. I will willingly do that now and act as her translator."

Billy nodded. "Proceed."

"My sisters and I did not come to your land seeking war with you," Carlisle translated as Riana chirped a series of strange echoing clicks. "We were drawn in by the light which you shone onto the water, then you called out to us, we came to listen."

"Is it true," Billy interrupted, "that your kind have been taking and killing humans along the coast?"

This was a point of contention. It took a while for her to answer. She did so slowly.

"I, personally, have taken and killed no one-" Jake released a breath he had not realised he was holding "-but I cannot speak for the rest of my kind. We are as varied in our habits as your own human race. However, if you are going to ask me such a question I think it only fair that I ask it in turn. Have you not taken and killed my kind?"

There was some uneasy shuffling then, from Jake too. She had a point.

"I saw the destruction at First Beach," she went on. "I witnessed its aftermath and the fear of my sisters. They had not expected such an attack from those offering peace."

"That was not our intention," Billy spoke up. "We meant to call you there to ask about the missing Swan girl and to speak to you about the attacks along the coast, to see if they could be stopped."

"That did not happen though," she said quietly. Then taking a deep breath, she turned to face the hunter where he sat, "Because of this man. He led you to slaughter my sisters." Her anger was tangible as Carlisle swiftly translated, "_That_ was his only motive at First Beach."

"Human-killers," he scoffed, those dark eyes piercing her in place.

"Not all of us." She turned to face the main council once again. "I would like to make another of his crimes known."

Man, Jake had to admire her tenacity. The girl had guts. He found his lips tipping in what could only be described as pride. His imprint was a fiery red-head!

"There was once another colony, in the south," she clicked in her strange way, "unlike my colony theirs was very peaceful and none of their sisters brought harm to any human. This man tracked them down, professed to want a peaceful meeting with their leader, Thea, in much the same way he had you do at First Beach. And when he was granted one he killed her on sight. He shot a spear through her heart, and the whole colony felt it. We are connected, you see, much the same way your wolf-pack are when they run together. And they all felt her pain."

Jake felt it too now, in the way she spoke. He could physically _feel_ her sorrow, and her anger.

"He then proceeded to root out and slaughter all of her sisters and children," Riana went on bluntly. "Only one survived to tell the tale, my sister Danica. I saw her memories myself, as did my sistren. And she heard him say that he would take their bones to mount on his walls. These mermaids were no threat, they fed only from willing hosts, and he slaughtered their _entire_ colony. Since then our kind have learnt to be cautious, to trust no man, we now limit our associations with humans and take what we need with aggression. We do this so that another of his ilk will never find their way into our midst again, so that they will never kill so many of our kind at once. We live this way because of him."

"They were monsters that devoured the living," Balthazar shouted, and standing in one quick move, he glared at Riana. Jake was instantly by her side but the hunter barely seemed to notice. Spittle flew from his mouth as shook with rage and jabbed one finger her way. "You cannot blame their crimes on me."

"They fed _only_ from willing hosts," she emphasised, holding strong, "those that chose to give their blood… like your son."

The hut, which had already been quiet, fell deathly still. All eyes flew to the hunter who could have been made from stone.

"I've heard of the story," she went on. "Most mermaids have. Your son loved one of my sisters, Rivvah. Her name is known well among us. And you killed him for it."

"She bedazzled him!" Balthazar snapped. "The boy had lost his wits! It was a mercy what I did, he was already lost."

Sam sat straight, eyeing the hunter sharply. "You killed your own son…?"

"He'd lost his wits," Balthazar repeated.

"You killed the girl he loved too," Seth added, abhorred, "and her colony? But… Riana said they were peaceful, no killers. They were good. You should have left them alone."

"He spoke that way too, thought I was wrong," Balthazar said, his dark gaze narrowing. "He was the last in a long line of hunters that tracked down these creatures over the centuries, yet still he questioned our purpose. He grew to believe that our ancestors were wrong to judge all the same." He shook his head in agitation. "But _he_ was the one who was wrong. You creatures are all the same!" Then he spun to face the council seats, his hands before him, beseeching. "You must see that?! If you do not intend to interrogate this creature to find out where the rest of her kind reside, then we should kill her and find another to question-"

As he spoke several thing happened at once. Balthazar unsheathed his knife, his unerring gaze falling to Riana, Carlisle and Jasper stepped forward, drawing her back, and Jake… well Jake saw red. The knife was a threat, _he_ was a threat to her.

Before anyone could so much as blink he was on him, knocking the knife aside and throwing him to the ground. And the hunter, damn him, had the gall to look shocked.

"Paul?" he gasped, catching his breath.

"You threatened her," Paul said, helplessly. "She is Jacob Black's imprint."

The hunter frowned. "His what?"

"Imprint. They are bonded, soul to soul."

The ugliest expression Jacob had ever seen crossed his face then, distorting his features until they were barely recognisable beneath the sneer. Jake pressed the length of his arm down harder against his chest, making sure he stayed put, no way was he getting up with that look on his face. He looked ready to kill. His gaze locked onto Jake's, his eyes black pits.

"Then to Hell with them both," he spat. "You should strike her down and him along with her."

"We will do no such thing," Paul said then, coming to stand at Jake's shoulder. "Jake is our pack-brother, and we won't harm her either. I won't. Our protection extends to her."

The shock of betrayal sparked in Balthazar's eyes; Jake could see it clearly. But he quickly overcame it, smothering it and pushing it away.

"Then what of the other one?" he said. "None of you are _imprinted_ to her, are you?"

"No," Paul said slowly. "No one imprinted on Bella Swan."

"Then I say we stage an attack on the vampire's house and get her back. Imprison this one so she can't warn the others and then go and fetch the Swan girl back. None of you should care about what happens to her now. None of you are bonded-"

The uproar that followed drowned out the rest of his words. Seth jumped up, shouting incoherently along with Embry and Quil. Jasper growled menacingly at Jake's back, and although he could not see him he had no doubt that he was terrifying – if Balthazar's paling features were anything to go by.

"We are not about the break the treaty!" Sam barked, aiming for order, while Sue called out, "Carlisle we have no intention of doing that."

At his back the vampires said nothing, and beneath him he still had the hunter pinned. He would hear him clearly, Jake knew, as long as he leaned in close. So he did, and he made his words a low, menacing growl. "I've said it before now but I'll say it again as you seem not to understand. Bella is my friend. You will not touch her either."

Sam and Billy finally regained order, between them calming down the rabble until everyone fell silent once again.

"Fine, fine," Balthazar huffed, irritated. "Let me up."

Jake didn't like the idea of letting him walk around free, but at Sam's nod he did.

The hunter stood, brushing down his grimy trench-coat, before turning to the council once again. "I can see that these two are important, so I won't ask for you to hand them over to me again, but what about another one? I can set up my lure again, call on the _sjó__söngvarar_, if we prepare well enough we can capture another live one to question and-"

_This guy just didn't stop!_

"No more!" Jake shouted. "We won't hurt anymore of them. This has to stop!"

The ugly expression was back and this time it locked onto Riana.

"Beast!" he snarled. "This is all your doing. You've bewitched them all!"

Jake saw a flash of silver, felt a whoosh of air past his ear, and a sharp cry.

Riana!

Balthazar had flicked the dagger quicker than even he could see. The time it took for Jake to whip his head around felt like a lifetime. He barely noticed Paul dive on his uncle or Jared wrestle the second dager away. He barely heard Sam order them to hold him down. He barely saw anything but Carlisle's back where he crouched over a tumble of fiery red curls on the earthen floor.

_No… Oh please no… _

Horror and despair rippled through him with dizzying strength. And then Jasper was before him, putting a hand to his shoulder and dulling the panic. He didn't even flinch at his touch. His mind was in too much turmoil.

"She's alright," Jasper said. "Don't panic. Carlisle blocked her before it could hit. The dagger ricocheted off his back. It did not even touch her."

Around his side, he could just about see Carlisle holding her hand and helping her up. He asked her something, a question, and she nodded shakily. _She was okay_.

"Vampire speed, remember?" Jasper said then, watching his gaze. "Sometimes we can be faster than even you wolf. Though that man is fast for a human…"

Yes… _That man!_ Jake's inner wolf snarled, shaking to be let loose. He needed to rip and tear, he needed to maul living flesh, he needed to _destroy_!

Paul's brow was a hard line as he gripped Balthazar's arm, holding him steady.

"I think it's time that you leave, uncle," he said, and his voice was not forgiving.

The hunter only frowned. "Do you all feel this way?"

Quiet. Everywhere he looked he was met with hard glares; hostility crackled in the air.

Then Billy spoke for them all. "You led us into a battle we did not want, because of you people died and the girl we were trying to save nearly perished at your men's hands. Now, you wish for us to call on them again, and why? To fetch another innocent girl."

"_Not one_ of their kind can be called innocent."

Old Quil quivered as he rose from his seat and Sue helped him up until he stood steady, leaning on his cane. "You and your men are banished from our lands, Balthazar the hunter," he said, his frail voice ringing with authority. "You must leave this place before sundown and not come back again; you are no longer welcome among us. You've done too much damage."

Balthazar tore free of Paul and Jared then holding up a threatening finger to all.

"You will regret this," he barked. "Mark my words, all of you will regret this!"

Then without further word, he strode to the exit, tossed back the flap, and was gone.

Jacob finally found his voice as he stumbled to Riana's side. "Are you alright?" He needed to ask, even if she looked it, he had to hear her say the words – however garbled.

A nod. A series of tonal clicks. He presumed that was a yes but looked to the Doc, who nodded in confirmation and said, "She was not harmed. She's just a little shaken."

"I think that ends the meeting," Sam called then from where he stood.

Sue nodded and people started to get up.

"C'mon," Jake said to Riana, "it's stuffy in here. Let's go outside and get some fresh air, some sea-air." She'd appreciate that, right?

A click and a _brrr_ noise. _What?_

"She said, 'thank you, I'd like that'," Carlisle translated.

"Right, okay." _Mental note: ask Bella to teach me Mermish_.

But after she spoke she continued with her strange – and rather cute, Jake thought – speech. She seemed distressed, her sounds merging and contorting, her hands gesturing and her eyes imploring… while Jake watched her, helplessly ignorant to her meaning.

Carlisle translated quickly for Jake. "Riana has a request to make of the council."

"Oh, right. Hold up!" he called, drawing Billy's attention. "We're not done yet."

Billy nodded and Sam ushered everyone back to their seats.

"Riana has something to ask of the council."

"Please," Sue said, "voice it." Her smile was kind, her voice encouraging.

Jake wondered at this change in the general attitude of the tribe. It hadn't been this way before, only after he had imprinted. Was that all it took? One imprint?

Carlisle spoke for her, he must have known her request in advance. "Riana has heard that you retrieved many of her fallen sisters from the sea after the battle, that you took their bodies into one of your land-morgues. She requests that you return them to the sea so that they can be buried by their own kind, in their own way."

Billy began to nod as Carlisle added his own part, "I believe this would be a good move: an act of respect and sympathy. It could be the first step to an accords between the peoples of the land and sea."

Sue, Old Quil and Billy exchanged a brief look, before Sue spoke.

"It will be done, young one."

…

Later that night found Jake on the beach with Riana and Carlisle, walking the shale by starlight. Jasper had taken off sometime earlier, in search of the little pixie one, Alice, who he had left at the boundary lines, not wanting to bring her amongst the wolves. And Riana was now happily combing the shore for shells and bits of weed. Her hair flew about her head in a flaming red-gold flurry as she laughed – such a delicate chiming sound – and smiled at the Doc, handing him odd bits and clicking in her melodic echoing way. God, she was beautiful.

"And this one is for fevers and inflammation?" He shook his head, smiling too. "Your knowledge of herb-lore is fascinating. This will certainly occupy my research for months, if not years, to come." She grinned in response, and the sight made his heart flip.

Jake hung back, like a guard at their backs – or an escort – and he was almost jealous of the way she had bonded with the vamp. He could talk to her in a way Jake could not. _Mental note: get Bella to teach me Mermaid talk soooon_.

She clicked some more then – making a weird kind of _brrr-cha_! noise.

"Err… I would like to," Carlisle said, casting a glance out across the waves, "but perhaps not now, not with the current climate. It would be too dangerous, I think, if you were to venture into the ocean to forage for deep-sea seaweeds, no matter their potential uses. For now these are more than enough. Thank you."

She wanted to go into the sea?! No! Jake had the feeling that if she did she would never come back, and he would lose this magnificent siren forever.

"Perhaps we should return soon," Carlisle said then. "Dawn is not too far off and it has been a long night."

Riana clicked and _brrr_ed, as if in agreement, and Carlisle looked up to where Jake stood awkwardly ten feet back.

"Riana would like to stay here for a few more hours, would that be alright?"

Alright?! She could stay forever! "Err… sure."

The look that crossed the Doc's face then was almost calculating, but it was gone before Jake could be sure.

"I find that I am in need of a hunt," he said suddenly. "It has been a while. I should take care of it soon, now would be a good opportunity. Will you be okay here with her?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "We'll be fine. I'll bring her back to your house when she's ready."

With a single nod the Doc disappeared in a blur of white, vanishing into the treeline. Jake still wasn't used to that – creepy vamps. And that left him alone, with her…

Alone with her!

He shot a look down at her where she stood at his side. Riana had dipped her head and was brushing some errand strands of hair behind her ears. She looked almost shy – an odd contradiction to the way she had seemed in the hut. She had been all fire and bravery then.

"Err…" he said, at a loss for things to say, then an idea sparked, "have you ever seen a driftwood fire?"

Those big green eyes found his then and she shook her head.

"Oh, well you're going to love this!"

He gestured for her to walk ahead of him and led her to a big driftwood log. It might have been the same one that he and Bella had sat on the first time she'd come to First Beach after her return to Forks and Charlie. How long ago that had been, how much had changed.

Once the wood was all set, Jake retrieved his trusty lighter from his jeans pocket and lit the kindling, feeding it in beneath the main wood. The fire started orange, not yet reaching the salt in the wood, but by the time he had sat beside Riana the flames ignited in cyan blue.

She gasped, her face clearly admiring as she clicked and brred some words or other.

"I wish I could understand you," Jake sighed. "I wish I could speak your words too."

She tore her gaze from the flames, looking to him with those expressive emerald eyes. This beautiful creature was no monster. Nothing as lovely as her could ever be that.

_I said, this is beautiful, like fire made into sapphires._

"You…" Wait a minute! "You can speak to me, directly into my _head_?!"

She looked back to the fire as the odd tingling in his mind continued, like the flutter of butterfly wings – gentle and soft.

_My kind possess many talents, Jacob. Telepathy amongst my sisters and between the land-walkers is just one of them._

"But, Bella never used this!"

Riana sighed. _Bella did not know how, she was never taught to extend it beyond our sister's link, to expand her mind to encompass the minds of others_. Within his mind he felt her flinch a little, though beside him she did not move at all. _It is what we use to lure in prey_.

Prey, as in human prey. The implication was clear, and Jake did not like it, though he tried not to show it.

I_ have never used it in such a way_,Riana swiftly added, as if she had felt his disquiet. _I, like Bella, am not like most of my sisters. I have fed rarely and only ever from the dead._

Icky. Jake just nodded. Whether she was like the others or not did not matter, what she had been before did not matter now. He would take her as she was – because she was his.

_They said in the hut that I am your imprint._ Her gaze grew quizzical._ What is that?_

There was a tricky question. She was still skittish, he thought. He did not want to scare her away, and so close to the ocean too. Perhaps she sensed this, because her quizzical gaze softened and, very gently, she smiled… Just how much could she hear _back_ from his head?

"Umm, well, an imprint is a wolf thing," he began. Trying and failing to find the perfect words, he just decided to go with truth and let the cards fall where they may. "It is a way to find our… perfect partner, so to speak. An imprint is like a soulmate, but much more."

She did not seem scared, but those jade eyes were so deep and thoughtful that anything could be swirling around in her mind, hidden away from him.

He waited, patiently for her response. He tried not to shuffle. Eventually that tingle of a voice found his thoughts again.

_So you are mine, then. My sworn protector?_

"Pretty much, yeah."

_You're mine_. Jake could not tell if that was even in his head, the voice was so small. Perhaps it had merely been a curl of wind.

Riana straightened her spine, turning to face him fully on the log. The set of her face seemed… determined.

_I have not known you long, Jacob Black_, she said._ But in the short time that I have I have found that I like you. _She paused, as if assessing him. _May I kiss you?_

"Err… sure, yes."

Why could he not have found a better response? He sounded like a stuttering human schoolboy. Like a bloody Mike Newton. He had never been this anxious around Bella.

But then, as her eyes locked onto his, all other thoughts fell by the wayside.

The firelight danced across her cheeks, lighting the brilliant reds in her hair. She was reaching up, placing a delicate pale hand to his cheek with such tenderness that her touch made him shiver. And then her silky soft lips were getting closer, and closer, and as they pressed against his in a gentle kiss, he found his own arms winding around her, drawing her in to press against his chest. The touch of her, the feel of her, the smell of her… was overwhelming. She was all he could see, all he could think about. She was everything, his entire world. And for the first time in his life he felt like he was exactly where he belonged.

…

**Hehe, good old Carlisle, just schooching away to give them some privacy. We'll be back to Edward and Bella next chapter. Hey, we had to give them **_**some**_** alone time. ;) **

**Thanks again for all the lovely reviews and PM's the other week, and for your understanding. Writing can take up a lot of time and become very demanding, as I'm sure other writers amongst you know, and when you have several projects on the go it can sometimes get somewhat overwhelming (especially when publishers and contracts get involved), so thanks everyone for your support. Nemma x **


	53. Chapter 53 - The Morning After

**Been away in Cornwall for over a week with no internet access at all, then finally returned home to find I couldn't get onto ff. Had some real difficulty accessing it in the last few days, but now I seem to have gotten back in, so here's another juicy update! **

**Recap: Bella and Edward were spending the night at the Cullen house, **_**alone**_**, while Rosalie and Emmett went off with Kali on a mini family vacation and Riana went with to La Push for a meeting – which resulted in a disgruntled Balthazar being kicked out and Riana discovering that she is Jake's imprint. They then had a sweet, fluffy, fire-side moment. Now back to Bella and Edward… ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 53: The Morning After – BPOV

Everything felt right; perfect. That's what I thought as I lay tangled in Edward's bed. The quilt was ripped, the sheets were ragged, pillows leaked feathers onto the floor, the head-board had two deep gouges the size of fists in it and the smile just wouldn't leave my face.

"So much for waiting until our wedding night," I hummed, turning to nuzzle his chest.

"Priorities change," he said, and one of his arms wound around my bare back, setting tingles sparking within my skin, as the other pillowed his head, "and I have already come too close to losing you too many times. I don't need a perfect white wedding. Hell, I don't even need the ceremony. I just want to be able to call you mine."

I hummed, beyond euphoric.

Weak sunlight filtered in through the windows, glistening faintly off his beautiful torso, and as it did, images of the night before filled my mind. We'd crossed boundaries, traversing new territory. And with each new step we had taken I'd felt closer to him than ever before. There had been pain, briefly, but it was overshadowed by much stronger more vibrant emotions, eclipsed by his kisses. If my heart had not been wholly his before, it certainly was now. There would be no more separations for us. I don't think either one would survive it.

"And to think," I hummed, "all that angst about harming me was over nothing."

"Not nothing," he argued, serious now as he traced spirals on the bare skin of my back. "The concern was real… and since you have brought it up. How _are_ you feeling, love?"

I wriggled, showing him just how okay I was. "All limbs accounted for," I quipped, although I suppressed a small wince. There was still a little pain, only a little – the kind you got after lifting weights or taking a new aerobics class. It would pass.

"Good," he sighed, kissing my forehead. "But you also have to remember that you are more durable now than you were as a human. You're stronger. I can sense it."

I smiled and clicked, "I am."

He moved his lips to mine once again, and as they moved together I was reminded more clearly of the night before. The electricity stirred, beginning to spark. He drew back.

"One moment, love," he said, and throwing back the quilts he disentangled himself, collected his boxers, pulling them on, and stood.

I pouted, not liking that he'd left the bed. He laughed and vanished into his bathroom as I sprawled backwards on the pillows. Clouds of feathers flew up around me and as one settled on the tip of my nose I blew. It spiralled off to the left.

Wait, what was he doing in the bathroom? It wasn't like he could have a human moment. "Edward?" I called, collecting the sheet around me to trail after him.

I wandered into the bathroom and found him stood before the mirror, poking at a mark on his right shoulder. My mood was blissful, verging on ecstatic. Winding my arms lovingly around his waist and observing him in the mirror, it took a moment to understand exactly what it was he was scrutinising. Then the realisation struck like a bolt of lightning.

My arms snapped away. "Edward…"

The bite stood out. The silvery double-crescent was nestled where the sensitive skin of his throat met his shoulder, just at the juncture between his collar-bone and his neck. It shone silver in the morning light, much like the bite of a vampire; twin moons facing one another.

My euphoria died in one fell swoop.

I remembered. I remembered how, when everything had been so overwhelming: his touches, his kisses, the racing of my blood, there had been a moment, just a spilt second of time, when it had all been too much. His scent had sung to me, like the sweetest of nectars, alluring in a way it had never been before. And I couldn't help it, I just couldn't. He'd roared out my name as I screamed into his neck, my fangs buried deep…

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," I gasped, covering my mouth – and the sharp fangs – with both hands and edging away from him until I hit the tub. The urge to bite had been too great, impossible to deny. And I had even drawn blood from within his vampire veins; I remembered tasting the tang of it. "I couldn't help myself, I couldn't stop…" My voice trailed into nothing, sickened. "That scar, it's not going to go away. I'm so sorry, Edward."

He turned to face me then, with no trace of pain. In fact, he looked jubilant. _Why?_

"Stop apologising," he said, drawing me to him, "I'm glad it won't go away."

"What? Why?" I pulled back a little from his embrace, just enough to stare up at him. "You can't actually be happy about this, can you? You can't _like_ it."

I had disfigured him for crying out loud.

"Actually, I _do_ like it." He smiled crookedly, in the most delicious way. "You drew blood from me, I felt it last night. You know what this means, don't you? I can be what you need, in the way a human male could provide for you I now can." And as he leant forward, his marble lips brushed the sensitive shell of my ear. In a deep voice teetering on a growl he whispered, "I can't wait to have those delicate little fangs buried in my skin again."

My blush then must have heated the air too. "You're a masochist, you know that?"

He threw back his head and laughed, before gathering me closer. "I'd take it any day, as long as I get to hold you in my arms. It was a perfectly natural instinct for a predator."

"_You_ didn't bite me," I noted. "Biting is _your_ perfectly natural instinct too."

I felt his arms tense a little. "Believe me, I wanted to, and I came close. I'm afraid the pillows suffered for that, as you saw."

Feathers still covered most of the room, flouting puffs of fluffy white.

"I'm so sorry about the bite," I insisted. "I couldn't help myself, it's just your scent-"

"_My scent?_" he seemed surprised.

Leaning away, I looked up at his startled topaz eyes.

"Yeah," I smiled, "maybe in your human life you'd have been _my_ singer. Riana told me that mermaids have singers too and I haven't come across a scent quite as, err, _compelling_ as yours before, at least not with the way you smelt last night. And it's not a vampires-naturally-smelling-nice thing, because I definitely didn't want to sink my teeth into Alice."

He barked out a laugh. "Well that's good to know. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

"And now I'm embarrassing myself," I chided. "Stop talking, Bella."

"No, love, please don't," he pulled me back to him, immersing his face in my well-ruffled hair. "You know I love to hear what you're thinking, the more unguarded the better."

I sighed, relaxing and enjoying his closeness. "I _am_ sorry about the scar," I lamented, touching the damaged skin. It shivered beneath my fingertips, sensitive. I wondered if it hurt but when I looked at him his eyes were dark with something entirely different from pain.

"And _I'm_ not," he said, "let's leave it at that."

…

We didn't have much longer together, though we did manage to fit in breakfast in bed, a dip in the pool and a cosy few minutes on the couch with TV. I didn't watch much of it though, I was much more interested in the sparkles glinting on Edward's chest from the bright sunlight.

It was late afternoon, verging on evening, when everyone returned. They tumbled inside like a hurricane, whirling through the house at vampire and human speed.

"…and I found cockles and razor-shells and starfish and oysters," Kali was saying to Alice as Rosalie shuffled her through the door. Her hands were coated in gritty sand and within her cupped palms I could see a mound of pearly shells in all shapes and sizes.

"How were your trips?" Edward said from where we sat on the sofa.

"Kali enjoyed the ocean, didn't you?" Riana said, looking down at her.

The little mermaid nodded enthusiastically, showing off her handfuls of shells.

Riana chuckled. "And there's more where that came from, believe me." Cupping her hands, she stage-whispered, "you should see Emmett's new jeep."

"You should _smell_ Emmett's new jeep," Rosalie added with a shake of her head. "I'm glad I didn't take my M3 now. It'll take forever to get that fish-smell out, and yes, I'm speaking in immortal terms."

Edward cringed theatrically while Rosalie ushered Kali upstairs muttering something about a bath. Jasper and Alice waved to us before flitting upstairs, and Carlisle and Esme wandered in at the rear of the group and politely greeted us. Apparently Carlisle had a shift at the hospital in a few hours and needed to finish up some paper work, and Esme had some designs she needed to email off. So they disappeared swiftly, leaving only the three of us.

When the mayhem had settled down somewhat, Riana flopped beside us on the sofa.

"What about you?" I asked her. "How was your weekend?"

She huffed, sagging into the couch. "_Hard_. After the council meeting – which went really well by the way, Balthazar got kicked out – we stopped by First Beach and I showed Carlisle some of the seaweeds we use in the colony for medicines. I couldn't find all of them since we'd have to travel pretty deep to get some of the best. Not that that'd be a problem for vampires – this family is too cool – but we decided on caution for the time being."

"Wait," I stopped her, "Balthazar got 'kicked out'?"

"Yeah," she grinned, displaying her bright white teeth – mermaid teeth.

I looked to Edward. "But, I thought he was Paul's uncle."

"He is," Riana nodded, "And _I_ am Jacob Black's Imprint – which overrides all other family ties apparently. Thank you for telling me by the way."

"I think that was something that he had to tell you himself."

"Yeah, you're right," she said blithely, but the strange stirring in her thoughts caught my attention. She was not feeling as blasé as she made out. Something deep inside her _twinged_ at the thought of him, and warmed – like the birth of a star… She pushed me out. She did not want to share or even think of this odd but welcome feeling yet. It was too new. Heeding her wishes, I left it alone and changed the subject.

"What did Balthazar think of that then?"

"He was _not_ impressed." Her smile grew as she tossed her red mane over the back sofa cushions and looked up at the ceiling. "But I should probably tell you that they didn't kick him out purely because I asked them too. It seems like a few of the tribal elders haven't been happy about his presence for a while. Apparently he has been trying to run thing. He wanted to stage an attack on Cullen Manor by the way, to get you back for him to interrogate."

"What?" Edward's voice was sharp, and his arm snaked around my waist, constricting.

"Yeah," she scoffed. "Jake shot _that_ idea down right away. Many also blamed him for the catastrophic meeting at First Beach. He was blamed for a lot of deaths on both sides."

She trailed away in thought, and I could see her reminiscing. The images were dark and erratic, but she had seen him from the water that night. He had a spear in hand, with a red tip. His sharp gaze surveyed the tide, he took aim, and threw. There were others around him too.

"That's a lot to pin on one man," I noted.

She caught my train of thought. I remembered Old White Beard with his gun, and the men Emmett had tried to protect me from… all unfamiliar, all brandishing weapons.

"Oh, his retinue were banished along with him," she said seriously, and frowned. "The strange thing was he didn't even really listen to the council. It was as if it were all a formality and he didn't care. He was stuck trying to convince them to set up another meeting and attract in more mermaids. He wanted a live _sjó__söngvarar_ to question about our Colony's location. Not going to happen now…"

She lapsed into silence again while staring at the white ceiling. The paint was stippled. Huh, I'd never noticed before. By my side Edward drew me closer and nuzzled his nose in my hair as he tended to do. I thought I heard him whisper 'never going to happen' but I could not be sure. His voice was too faint, even for my sensitive mermaid ears.

"So," Riana said, clapping her hands, "enough talk of the morbid mermaid-killer." Flopping back, she poked at my arm. "How did _your_ weekend go?"

"Fine," I answered… too quickly.

"Oooh," Riana sang, suddenly smug, "I see what's been going on here."

"No you can't," I clicked quickly, "because I am not thinking of anything except the lyrics to Bon Jovi's 'It's My Life'." _Focus on the song, focus on the song_…

Her chuckle had a dark edge as she sang, "Don't need to be a mind-reader to tell."

My cheeks flushed an even darker shade of red, something akin to burgundy.

"You're as bad as Emmett," I grumbled, allowing my hair to fan forward and cover my face – my standard response to humiliation – as I shuffled deeper into Edward's side.

He, in turn, studiously examined an article that could _not_ have been that interesting.

"Who's as bad as me?" Emmett perked up. Speak of the Devil… he strode through the door while wiping his hands on a cloth and… yes, _there_ was the evil smirk. "What's going on? Did I hear mention of Edward and Bella's weekend? What are you guys talking about?"

"_Nothing_," Edward and I stressed in unison.

"Uh-huh." His eyebrow cocked as Riana's grin turned sly.

I got the feeling in that moment that we wouldn't hear the end of it.

…

We didn't hear the end of it. At every opportunity Emmett tried to sneak in ever-so-subtle queries about what we had 'been up to'. When neither of us deigned to answer he only persisted. And that was not the worst part, Riana's comradery was. Every time Emmett threw some sort of blatant innuendo our way, _every single time_, Riana chirped in with a 'Bow-chick-a-bow-wow', in a horribly chipper soprano voice.

They were evil, the pair of them.

It was humiliation to the extreme. Edward shuffled uncomfortably; I blushed like a tomato. And every time we did, they exchanged wicked grins at their success.

It was diabolical. The worst part was when Kali began to join in with Riana's tune without even knowing what it was she was doing.

"I think we need to devise a plan to separate them," I said to Edward one night, "those two should not be left to plot together. The results are catastrophic."

He sighed, dropping his head back onto the head-board with a clunk. "I know, unfortunately Emmett has found something of a soul-jokester in Riana."

After a while their taunting ceased to amuse anyone but them. Carlisle just scowled and shook his head and Esme stopped even scolding, just played ignorance. I heard her whisper to Edward one evening that it was the best way. Rosalie still slapped the back of Emmett's head.

One afternoon, a few days later, I was in a foul mood. Edward and I had little time alone that was not interrupted by one of Emmett or Riana's ribald comments, and after a morning stock-full of them I just wanted some space, some time to be alone.

That was how I found myself perched on the river bank, hidden behind a crop of reeds not far from the Cullen house. The day was calm outside, the air crisp and cool but not so cold that I shivered. Wind whistled through the trees making leaves crackle, and the water flowed like silk against my feet. Edward had offered to accompany me, but I had declined. Being an only child I was used to my own company, had been for years. And as much as I loved living with the Cullens – and Edward – sometimes I just needed me-time. Like now.

Grass crunched underfoot. Sighing, I tossed a blade of grass into the water.

"Hey, Bella," Riana said, peeking out from behind a tree.

I had heard her mind before I'd heard her approach, so I'd known it was her log before. Bare-foot she trod tentatively over twigs and grass and dirt.

"What do you want?" I asked, not unkindly but with enough of an edge to make her slow.

"Alright," she held her hands up. "I admit I encouraged him. I went too far, I'm sorry."

The frown I bore was short-lived. In her thoughts she _was_ contrite.

"Please stop then?" I said, tossing more grass into the river.

"Okay, I will." As she took a seat on the bank beside me she smiled a little, not slyly for once. "I couldn't resist teasing but I will stop. Can't speak for Emmett though."

No one could. No one could control him, except perhaps Rosalie. But this was a start.

We lapsed into silence and she leaned back, looking at the sun with narrowed eyes. It was bright today, too bright for the vampires to venture out into civilisation.

"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

There was hesitation in her thoughts, but nothing else was clear. I wondered if she needed the prompt. She said nothing, so I looked away. Let her get to it in her own time.

Eventually she did.

"There is something I need to say… I meant to tell you when I got back from La Push."

"You mean after you and Jake made-out?" _See, I can tease too!_

Her eyes went wide. "You caught that?!"

My lips twitched, restraining a smile. "You may have let it slip once, only briefly, but it was enough for me to see. You looked happy."

"Yeah," she smiled fondly, a reminiscent gleam in her eyes, before becoming serious. "But I didn't forget or get side-tracked because of _that_. It's just… what I want to talk about, it's kind of a morbid topic."

"Go on," I prompted, wiping my hands on my jeans and giving her my full attention.

Riana wound grass blades between her fingers too and slowly began to shred.

"After the council meeting, and Balthazar's expulsion from La Push, I asked that they release our sister's bodies back to the ocean."

I tensed. I had often wondered what had happened to those who had fallen at First Beach but I hadn't dared to ask. I knew I was the only captured survivor.

Riana's lips tightened and her handful of grass met the water too.

"It's what they would have wanted," she said quietly.

Giovanni had said he had seen many dead when he visited La Push. To know that they had kept them though… where? A morgue? The idea made me shiver. Why?

My words were unsteady. "How many were there?"

"Many," she sighed. "More than I would have thought."

Images shifted in her mind; pale faces and blue lips, cold steel slabs and white sheets. I shut them out. She had seen them then. I was surprised Jake would have shown her. But then, they were her sisters, our sisters, in many ways. Perhaps she had needed closure.

"They will be returned to the sea now," Riana continued, "and have the burials they should have, with all the respect they deserve. I think it will be good for relations between us and the land-walkers, a sign of good faith or empathy." She paused, and her sigh then was deep and weary and sad. "And Mara should be able to bury her children."

"We are not her children, Riana. No matter what she said."

More grass got thrown into the river by my hands. In a way it was therapeutic.

"She considers us as such." Riana's eyes bored into my side. I could feel them. "And, actually, some of us _are_. Lilith, for example, is her true-born daughter."

"Was she there?"

"No," Riana answered solidly. "And that is a good thing. If she had fallen… well, let's just say it would have soured any future associations with the land-walkers."

"But you think that delivering up our other sisters will be okay?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Mara has lost those she has turned in battle before. It is no new thing. Lilith is different because she is her own, she's personal. But if she can bury the others with respect her ire will be assuaged, I am sure."

"I hope you are right. Peace between all four races on this coast: Vampire, werewolf, mermaid, and human, would be good. Anything we can do to bring that about is good. "

…

Later, when the breeze grew too chill, we ventured back to the house. Esme was covering the pool with a taupe sheet for the night and when we stepped through the backdoor we found the Cullen brothers arguing in the kitchen. It seemed serious. Currently Jasper was speaking.

"I'm just saying that with the increased activity along the coast it could provoke the Volturi to investigate. How many humans are missing or dead now? Twenty, thirty?"

I froze where I stood. Had my sisters killed so many? No wonder they shot at us!

"The Volturi pose little threat," Riana said beside me and all three looked up.

Jasper frowned. "I do not think you truly comprehend-"

She held up a hand. "I understand that I am not well versed in the knowledge of your kind, vampire, but let me remind you that you are not so well versed in the knowledge of _mine_. From what I have heard of these Volturi, they are like royalty, a collection of some of the most sort after talents in your world, however, their numbers are few, yes?"

"Yes. Their official numbers maybe few, but their talents _are_ great and not to be underestimated, and they have a vast base of support in the vampire world."

Riana listened nodding along as Jasper spoke, then she went on.

"Mermaids are exponentially faster than vampires in the water, and as such we are much more difficult to track, especially as it is impossible to follow our non-existent scents in the surf. I should think that if these Volturi were to come after us, we could evade them."

She was more confident than I was. Jasper opened his mouth, but Riana cut him off.

"And even if a vampire or vampires were to track any one of our sisters to the colony – which is very well hidden I'll remind you – then our numbers reach into the thousands… _in one colony alone_. And I assure you, there are many colonies."

Images of far off sisters and distant voices filled her mind. I thought once she had told me that Mara's colony did not relate well with others, that they may be possible enemies! My frown hardened. She also said that she had never encountered any mermaids from other colonies. None had ventured into our territory for years. Was she lying then or now? Was this all bravado? I projected my queries at her, hard and fast and persistent.

Without facing me, she said, _if we were in dire need, if many of us were under threat, we would set aside our differences and band together. I know this from Mara. I asked when we started to survey the land-walkers. It would be a bloody war but we would not lose_.

Aloud, she said, "We can fight as well as any vampire in the right conditions, in our own environment. Which most – unlike Bella – would not willingly leave." She seemed completely unperturbed by the idea of war but I felt the blood drain from my face. My eyes caught Edward's and I knew that he had heard her silent words too. And her confidence.

"But Riana," I interrupted, "what if the Volturi target the Cullens because of us?" The worry rose, taking hold. "What if they blame them when it was our fault? What if they-"

Trembling took hold and Edward moved to take me in his arms.

"None of this is _your_ fault, Bella," he said, while Riana looked on apathetically.

"I can convey your worry to our Queen when I eventually return if you wish," she casually continued. "She will take notice if the concern comes from our vampire kin."

"_Kin?_" Jasper asked in true surprise. "What do you mean kin?"

Bemused, Riana turned to appraise me. "You didn't tell them, Bella?"

I shrugged. "It never came up," I said lamely. Riana rolled her eyes, heaving a huge sigh. "We had a few communication problems in the beginning, remember? Not to mention a number of other issues. Some smaller details of my time in the sea may have been bypassed."

So Riana explained. "Mermaids consider Vampires as… a sort of _cousin_ species. They're like distant family. Not that we won't fight them if prompted, just as you would not fight a nomad wishing to harm your mates. We do have many compatible qualities though."

Jasper straightened, arms folding, as he listened, "Such as?"

"Our mutual craving for human blood, our lightning speed," She laughed. "Not to mention our uncontrollable attraction to glittering things. Vampire skin in the sunlight has a greater inducement than Aztec gold. Remember me telling you the night the pack came?"

"I remember," Edward said, "so you _like_ gold and jewel?"

His assessing eye fell on me and I knew he was plotting. _No_, I glowered, _don't even think about it. I do not need chests full of jewels_. For once it seemed as though he could read my mind but his smile only turned crooked. From Riana's mind he could doubtless hear that even if I did not want stocks of gold and gems I would not be physically able to resist them.

Damn that mermaid trait!

Riana grinned. "That's why so many of our sisters were so approving of Bella's choice of fiancé. And jealous," she winked at him and I had to stifle the urge to growl openly at her as a wave of possessiveness surged through my system. _Mine_.

Jaspers gaze flashed my direction and Edward's flashed in his, before a crooked smirk started tugging at the corners of his mouth. _Argh,_ _would the humiliation never end?_

Even with being so easily read, I still had trouble stifling the possessive streak. I knew Riana was no threat – _logically_ – but my instincts were less convinced.

_Jake, she has Jake now!_ The reminder did little to help. Instead I changed topic.

"You just said, 'I can convey your worry to our Queen when I return'. Riana, what do you mean?" That point had worried me. She had a life on land now, with me, with Jake…

When she turned to me, her eyes were tinged with sadness.

"At some point I think I should return, just to assure her of our safety. I-"

Three stools crashed to the ground.

The boys froze, their eyes wide and wild and dark. Lips pulling back over teeth with their snarls…

"Edward?" I clicked, startled, "what's wrong?"

His gaze found me then and in a blink his arm was securely around my waist.

"We have a visitor," he hissed.

"The wolves are okay now," I clicked back rapidly, "with Sam's orders and Jake's imprint. And if Balthazar were to come here, he's human, what could he possibly-"

"The visitor is not human," he grated. "It's a vampire."

… 

**Oow, so who is it? Any guesses?**

**Thanks for your patience with the updates everyone. I've had a lot going on with my writing life recently and sometimes time for my beloved SS is hard to find. My unpublished novel reached 4****th**** place in another contest and the judges there have given me pages of notes to work with – enough to keep me occupied until Christmas! One requested the full MS! So I've been working on original fics a lot in the last month, but I want you to know that I read and appreciate all of your reviews and PM's and even though I haven't found time to respond personally to everyone this time, know that they can really bring a smile to my face. I truly appreciate them. But I thought that you'd all rather have a new update than a PM reply. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for your support – working on the next chap now. Nemma x **


	54. Chapter 54 - Just a Nomad?

**Recap: Some unknown vampire has arrived at the Cullen House.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 54: Just a nomad? – BPOV

"No need to panic," Carlisle tried to assuage Edward while Jasper stood rigidly to one side. "You only sense one, do you not?"

Edward nodded stiffly.

"Well," Carlisle went on, "he is likely a lone nomad, just passing through. He may even be known to us, a friend. Think _clearly_, Edward."

Black eyes met Carlisle's calm golden ones. "A lone nomad, just passing through?" he scoffed. "Yes, I remember how well that turned out the last time for Bella."

_James_, I shivered, recalling his eerie face all too clearly. Those bottomless eyes of the purest black, those glistening white teeth… _No, he is dead, gone, burnt to ashes_.

Riana frowned her worry as Rosalie carried a sleepy Kali into the kitchen.

"I thought it best not to leave her alone upstairs," she said. "I want her surrounded by as much protection as possible if we are to have a guest."

"It could be the Volturi," Jasper said, looking to Emmett, "sending one to check up."

"It's not," Alice trilled, dancing to his side. "You can all calm down. It is a friend. He means us no ill will. Stand down, soldiers!"

"You can see him?" Edward asked, edging ever so slightly closer to me. A reflex.

"Yes," she smiled, in her charming pixie way. "It is someone you and Carlisle know. He will be on the lawn in a few seconds. His name is Randall."

"Randall!"

I wasn't sure who shouted the loudest, Riana or I. Our twin voices broke some of the closest crystal-wear and made Edward and Alice clamp their hands over their ears. But we hardly noticed, we were already running for the front door. _Kiera's mate, our colony's resident vampire._ That was our Randall! We fought through the living room, out the door frame, down the portico, and tumbled onto the grassy lawn, each trying the win the race of who would reach him first. I was sure that the others were close behind but I could not focus, my eyes were searching the treeline ahead. Riana's were too. There was movement, a flash of white, and a figure in dark clothing stepped fluidly from the ferns. With a vampire's grace.

Incoherent, clacking clicks fell from our lips as we dove into a run.

"Girls!" he called.

Kneeling, he opened his arm as we tumbled into him, clicking and screeching. It was an overreaction, I knew, but I couldn't stop. In many ways he was as much a part of the Colony as any of our sisters. But more than that, he was a link to them, to our underwater home.

He was a tangible reminder.

"Riana, Bella," he gasped, pulling back to take her face between his freezing palms and then mine. He was not at all changed! The same pale features, carved as if from stone, the same reddish brown hair… Not that I'd expected him to be. "I had not thought to find you living," he said with a surprised little laugh. "This is truly, truly wonderful!"

We grinned at one another and at him, with our toothy predator's teeth.

Then Randall looked away, over our heads. Ah, we had an audience, of course.

"Oh, Carlisle," Randall said. Slowly he rose, being careful to set both Riana and I back on our feet. "Hello, old friend." He held out a hand with a cordial smile.

"Randall," Carlisle shook it politely, "It's been some time."

"An age," he shrugged, "or several."

As the two conversed, I felt Edward gently tug on my hand – when had he grasped it? – and pull me away, into his side. Sometimes he was so protective. I smiled up at him, trying to convey my certainty of Randall's kind nature with my eyes alone. This was the man, after all, who had carried me home after the shark attack. Edward did not look convinced. I could not blame him. Meetings with other red-eyed vampires in the past had not only been bad, they had been disastrous. And I had just gone and thrown myself at one! …whoops.

"Are you passing through town?" Carlisle asked conversationally.

"Actually, my purpose in coming here is a little more direct… I was sent."

Carlisle nodded and gestured to the well-lit house. "Please then, come in."

"Your coven has grown large since we last met," Randall said, upon entering the living room and seeing Alice, Jasper, Esme and Emmett. Apparently only Carlisle and Edward had followed us out. He looked around. "And you have a lovely home here."

"Thank you, that would be mainly due to my wife, Esme," Carlisle gestured and she moved forward for a polite hand-shake. Randall bowed in a charmingly flamboyant and old world kind of way as he accepted her hand. "She has a flare for home-design."

"Lovely to see you again," he said. "You were but a newborn when last we met."

"You know Edward, of course, and these are my other children: Alice, Jasper and Emmett. Rosalie is upstairs."

I frowned. Had she left again? I thought she was staying close to the rest. After a quick search for Kali's thoughts I found a sleepy mind that was relishing the comforts of her feather bed. Ah, after ascertaining that there was no danger Rosalie had returned her to bed.

"I have heard a great deal about all of you," Randall said then, drawing me back.

"Oh?" Jasper said from beside Alice, "How so?"

"My young mate, Kiera, knows of you from Bella's mind," he explained, direct and to the point. "She is a mermaid from the same colony. She told me all she thought I needed to know before sending me up here to search for them. I am glad that my search was not a long one. And I am even happier to find her looking so well. We have been worried."

He sighed and when Esme offered him a seat he gratefully took it. Everyone sat. For vampires the taking of seats seemed to be more of a psychological comfort than a physical one. Edward too pulled me onto his lap… in the seat furthest away, I noticed.

"Kiera believed that the land-walkers had taken some of her sisters hostage," Randall went on, "so she had me check since she could not. Of course, we believed they would be imprisoned by the wolves, but considering their history with _my_ kind I felt it prudent to check with the Cullen Coven first." He sighed, running a hand through his thick brown hair. it flopped back into place in tousled disarray. "I am quite relieved. After seeing their numbers I do not think that any rescue attempt on my part would have ended well. Kiera told me they have a tendency to tear apart strange vampires who trespass upon their territory."

"That is true," Carlisle said from his chair, "you would not have been safe."

He nodded, turning his attention. "You seem well enough…" Randall's eerie magenta eyes fell on me, then shifted to Riana, who beamed. "Are there more of you, perchance?"

"Only Riana, I and Kali," I clicked. He knew our language well enough from Kiera.

"Kail!" he gasped. Then his eyes glazed, going distant. "Ah, I hear her heart. That is a great relief. Kiera has been most distressed about her disappearance – she is so young after all, in mind and in body." Randall's thumbs twiddled. "You keep her upstairs, is she unwell?"

"No," Esme said slowly, "one of our family is very attached to her, and very protective. She is taking precautions. Plus, she is very tired…"

"Ah," Randall nodded, seeming to understand. "You need not worry about me. I have lived with her and the others longer than you."

"Yeah, so I heard," Emmett said. Propping his elbows on his knees he leant his big body forward. "How does that work for you, living under the sea?" he asked eagerly.

"It is a trial sometimes," Randall said seriously, looking to his lap and frowning. "It is uncomfortable not to breathe for so long, or to allow your lungs to fill with water and not choke it up. But it is bearable, after a time."

"Then why do it, man?"

"For my beloved, my Kiera."

When he looked up his face was glowing. Not literally, but his features emanated a happy light that you only ever saw from those experiencing first love. It was the way Edward looked when he spoke of me sometimes. I chanced a glance at him from under my lashes and saw his face set, intent, on Randall – listening in?

"It will not always be this way though," Randall continued. "Kiera plans to wander the land by my side one day as my equal partner, my true mate in this life."

"Wait," Edward said, catching his interest, "do you mean as a vampire?"

"Yes," he nodded.

There was a sudden tension in the atmosphere. This was a crucial point – one I was more than eager for him to expand upon. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

"So, it is safe," Edward queried, slowly, "A vampire can turn a mermaid safely?"

"Of course," Randall smiled a little, looking between the two of us. "I thought that may be of interest to you. Kiera had told me of your attachment to Bella. It is a rare thing to turn a mermaid, but it has occurred several times in our history." He paused, before continuing. "If anything, the transition from Mermaid to vampire is much smoother than it is from human. The mermaid venom acts as a kind of buffer, numbing the pain of the change."

Disbelief prevailed through the room; all occupants exhibiting varying levels of shock.

Carlisle was the one to break it, leaning forward in his chair. "My research into Bella's genetics has yielded some interesting results," he said, "but I never anticipated anything like that. In my experiments on her blood there was no noticeable reaction to vampire venom, though perhaps that was because the samples were _in vitro_. Is that truly possible?"

Randall nodded, looking to Edward (who was rigid with tension). "I don't know much about the modern sciences myself. I was born in a time of herblore. All I can say is, if you wish to change your mate, she will not experience the same pain you or I did."

A breath whooshed from Edward's lips, one he must have been holding. And as Carlisle began to quiz Randall about what he knew of the change and why it was so different, Edward pulled me into the cool nest of his arms and breathed into my hair.

"I can spare you that," he whispered. And I knew exactly what he meant.

Much of his angst these days over the change was not so much about my soul anymore; it was about the days of crippling pain I would have to endure to become like him. I won't lie, it was a relief to know I wouldn't ever have to go through that now, given my new state. But it was even _more_ of a relief knowing that Edward wouldn't have to watch me go through it. And as I released my own relaxed sigh I leant in closer to him.

For a moment I was lost in his scent: the heady mix of lilacs and honey and sunlight that was both his singular fragrance and a beacon for home. The dizzying aroma made me smile, the hands stroking my neck made me grin.

"Their venom is so similar to ours," Randall said. "I think the system acclimates to it."

"So, tell us," Riana said, "How is everyone back at home? How does the Colony fair?"

"Alas, I bring grave tidings." His bearing became solemn, his shoulders drooping. "After the battle at First Beach many were lost. I saw the bodies with my own eyes."

"I know," Riana lamented, "I saw several of them myself."

"Then perhaps you know. _She_ was among their number." There was such gravity in his expression, such sorrow, that it made me sit up, away from Edward, to pay closer attention. Randall sighed, rubbing his brow as he spoke. "Lilith, Mara's own blood-child, is dead."

…

**Next time – Mara chapter! And trouble is stirring beneath the waves… ;) **

**Thanks for your patience with the updates, again. ****I'm currently co-authoring 3 short story books with different publishers, 2 of which have recently been released with the third due at the end of this month, so a lot of my time has been taken up with promotions and such****. Plus I'm working on another **_**big**_** project. But I really appreciated all the supportive messages last chap! Thank you so much :D. Hope you enjoyed this one. The next is in the works, and that's when stuff starts to kick off again. Nemma x **

**If anyone's interested, I'm on facebook (Nemma Wollenfang) or twitter: NemmaW (you can see images of the books there, I like the gothic one the best! ;)) **


	55. Chapter 55 - Mara

**Anyone remember that mermaid naming comp I ran a few months back? Well a few more names turn up here… keep your eyes open! ;) **

**Recap: Lilith, Mara's child by blood is dead.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 55: Mara – Mara POV

_Steal my daughters, mutilate my young… the land-walkers would pay for their injustice dearly, oh holy Poseidon would they pay! _

As Mara paced the dark confines of her cave she swished her tail and drifted in thought. Many of her daughters had returned unharmed, many bore cuts and bruises, some did not return at all, but some… some harboured more severe wounds. As it always inevitably did, her mind circled back to memories of that hard night, when a pod of her daughters had gone to meet the land-walkers at First Beach…

In the darkness she did not see them at first, even with her green-sheened vision. But she heard them. The chaos of their thoughts came first: fear, blood, horror. Then the screams.

Mara flashed out of the dome's huge opening to survey the vast ocean beyond.

One face flashed out of the gloom, then another and another, all fleeing into the safety of the Colony's strong, stone walls as they screeched. She probed their minds. They were confused and incoherent, neither their words nor their thoughts made sense! Fire, blood, screams, explosions…? Impossible! The sea did not burn! Randomly, she reached out and snagged a young girl as she passed, yanking her to an unceremonious halt.

"What happened?!" she demanded, gripping both of her arms tight.

The copper-haired girl stuttered and shook, her eyes darting like a frightened tuna's.

"Sabrina!" Mara barked, her grip tightening.

That seemed to jolt the girl to her sense and her eyes locked onto Mara's.

"T-t-they attacked us," she gasped. "They had g-guns and knives and harpoons and _bombs_. They tried to blow us out of the water!" Her eyes glazed as her mind drifted and Mara too saw what she had seen. The images were terrifying. "And n-nets," Sabrina choked, shaking harder, "they took our s-sisters!" She all but wailed then, and Mara let her grip slip down her arm as the weight of this crushing news took hold.

No… no, no, no!

"MARA!"

That was Kiera's sweet voice, thick with fear. _Thank the Gods, she's here_. Kiera was a constant source of rationality, if ever she needed her presence it was right now.

_Where are you? _she thought. There were so many rushing past at lightning speeds.

"Here, I'm here!" she called, aloud this time.

Mara spotted her before she had finished speaking. The blond was easy to define but not for her singular beauty. Unlike the others, her movements were slow and laboured, encumbered by some weight. It took another moment to understand what that weight was.

"Oh, no! Sweet Gods, no!"

Lilith. Her sweet, darling, true-blood child… slouched at Kiera's side with one arm slung over her shoulders as Kiera towed her along.

Mara was at their sides in an instant, sweeping back the red-stained hair that floated over Lilith's face. Underneath she was pale, so pale, even in the wavering moonlight. Her lips were tinged an odd grey-pink and beneath her drooping lids, Mara could only see the whites of her eyes.

"Lilith?" she coaxed quietly. "Sweetheart, speak to me."

A nonsensical mumble fell from her lips, along with a faint stream of red-tinged water.

"She's badly injured," Kiera said bleakly.

Mara did not need to be told. The half-broken harpoon wedged into her side was indicator enough. How long had it been there? How deep was it buried?

"Inside," Mara finally muttered, "help me get here inside."

Lying limp and lifeless, Mara had held Lilith in her arms as she sat on the sandy floor of her vast cave-chamber. Lilith's breaths had grown more erratic with each passing hour, and although Mara had removed the offending harpoon tip and bandaged the wound with a kelp-weed poultice and plied her with every herbal concoction and underwater remedy she knew of, there was no change. In fact, she just kept getting worse.

Nothing was helping.

Rattily breathes swooshed in and out as she slipped between consciousness and delirium. How could a breath rattle so below the waves?

The tunnels were packed with crying mermaids, many were other daughters, less badly injured but in need of help. Kiera and Danica attended them, restoring order where they could and treating the wounded. Mara comforted herself with this. Lilith needed her more now. Her first-born.

At a loss, she did the only thing she could think of, she hummed. She rocked her child and hummed the way she had done when Lilith was small and it had only been her, Kiera, Danica and Waverly starting out in a fresh new world. They had been a small Colony then, hovering at the brink of a bright and eternal future. How had it changed so suddenly?

"Mara," Kiera said, suddenly at her side, "we had no warning. Their weaponry was concealed until the last moment. Once they fired it turned into all out chaos!"

"Mama…"

Mara looked down. Lilith was awake. Her pale lips shook and her eyes fluttered.

"Shh," Mara cooed, stroking her hair, "you are safe now child, safe and at home.

"Ma…" She smiled a little, but her eyes glazed, growing distant. They fell shut then… and had never opened again.

Mara remembered little of the aftermath, just flashes of Kiera and Waverly trying to console her and extensive lengths of long dark tunnels flying past at speed.

Hours later, her throat had been raw and there had been blood under her fingernails and strands of ebony hair wound between her fingers. It looked like her own. Was it?

"What happened?" she asked Kiera again later, once she was coherent and Lilith had been carefully wrapped in a kelp-weed shroud for burial. Perhaps now that the panic had died down, and the distant cries, she would gain a more detailed, sensible response.

"They attacked, as the young one said," she reported stoically, like an officer delivering a summary. "They made pretence of a peace treaty. I almost listened. Then they brought out the guns. If it had not been for Bella's quick reflexes I would have been dead."

"Bella," Mara said, suddenly remembering that girl. After a quick scan of the hive-mind she determined the lack of her singular essence. "She is not among those who returned." She sighed, wearily. "Is she dead?" That would be a shame… but in comparison to the loss of Lilith, it hardly made a blip on her radar. Besides, she was replaceable.

"No. We lost many, ten in total. I saw many shot. Balthazar brought harpoons. Lucrezia fell to one of them. Calypso fell to a bullet. I did not see others fall. Avalon escaped with a slash to her arm and Ellie with a bloody head, but they are recovering. It was very chaotic."

Doubtless, she had gleamed as much from the cacophony in their heads!

"What of Bella then?" she asked next. "You say she is not dead?"

"Waverly was the last to see her. From her memory…" Kiera hesitated. "It looks like the land-walkers captured her. They placed her in a glass tank and took her inland."

Ah, yet another tragedy. She could she the images play out in Kiera's mind. _Bella cowering as the wolves loomed over her. Bella screaming and banging frantically about a glass-coffin_. She would fare ill under that hunter's blood-tainted hands. Better she had died…

"Then there is nothing we can do for her." Mara turned her back, flicking her hand in the water. "We must consider her lost."

"Riana has not returned either," Kiera added. "No one seems to have a memory of her becoming injured but I think we must assume the worst, she could be like Bella."

So many lost; so many _taken_. Mara would have to think of replenishing the ranks again. Recouping her losses…

"Thank you, Kiera." She waved her elder daughter away. "You may leave me now."

She shut herself away from the world after that. She ignored one of her daughter's pleas to go and seek out Giovanni's aid, she barely listened to Kiera when she said she was sending her Randall to scour the land for survivors or those taken. She did not care.

For weeks after First Beach, Mara was trapped in a self-imposed purgatory of her own agony. No parent should outlive their child, none. And yet that was what she was doing.

Then, one evening, as she wallowed, she came to a decision. If they were to take her child from her, then she would do the same to them. An eye for an eye, so to speak.

She had to repay them in kind for what they had done.

It was a solid plan, a _just_ plan.

It was deserved.

… 

Retribution came a week later in the form of a small child, a young girl of about three or four years old from the land-walker's reservation. Her silken hair was ebony black and she bore the russet skin of her people. If Mara had thought more about what she planned she may have backed out. But there was no more room for thought or soft feeling. There was only room for revenge. This _had_ to be done. For her daughters, for Lilith.

Mara had scoured the coastline for three days, looking for her opportunity, watching and waiting… There had been little to no activity, and then, this morning, she had appeared.

The girl giggled as she scampered over rocks, muttering to herself about "pretty rocks".

"They are pretty indeed," Mara said in a kindly voice as she perched herself up on a nearby rock. The shore was riddled with them and so many dipped conveniently into the sea.

For a moment the child froze, staring in wonder, then as her mouth fell from it's small 'O' her lips formed a cherubic smile. She giggled again. "You a mermaid! Like Awiel!"

Mara had no idea of what she was referring to, but with the sweetest smile she could muster she nodded nonetheless. The child, at least, had gotten one thing right. "Yes, I am a mermaid. And it is lovely to meet you, little girl. So, you like pretty rocks?"

The child nodded seriously, holding out her hands. Her palms held a cluster of bland, indistinguishable pebbles. Hardly what Mara would call pretty. One was coated in barnacles.

"Would you like to know a secret?" Mara whispered, leaning close. The child did too. "I know a place where there are _many_ pretty rocks, much prettier than those you hold there."

"Weally!" The infant gasped, eyes wide with wonder. _So guileless_… The handful she gripped clattered to the shore. "Where?"

"It is a hidden place," Mara said, "only special people can go there. I can take you."

That seemed to spark some alert in her. She leant away, and her little brow puckered.

"I don't know…"

Mara gritted her teeth behind the smile. Perhaps the girl was going to be difficult. Perhaps she would need to convince her. Mind manipulation worked on most humans. She would use it. Locking the child in her swirling emerald gaze she reached out with her mind.

"Everything will be fine," she promised and held out her hand. "Come to me, child."

"Claire, where are you?" a distant voice up the bay suddenly called out. "You better not be outside again. You know what I told you about the beach. It's dangerous!"

There was a house, more like a wooden shack, barely hidden within the trees. Smoke issued from its chimney and there was the distinct crackle of a badly-tuned TV within. Likely the voice had come from there. If she did not hurry soon the girl's parents would be looking.

"Come," Mara coaxed, exerting her mental pull – filling her with feelings of longing and excitement and curiosity. She must come! Or else she would miss the pretty rocks!

"My mommy will worry…" she mumbled.

The child was starting to startle. One little foot stepped back.

"Claire?" the voice called again, full of worry.

"…And Qwil…"

"Claire!" Now that voice was frantic.

"Come…" Mara pressed, and as the child tentatively laid her little hand in Mara's open palm the mermaid smiled – with bright razor fangs.

Her fingers closed over Claire's hand like a Venus flytrap encasing a fly.

… 

'**Claire' was also another name that got picked out for the mermaids… but since Claire was in this chapter it did get used. :) Thanks for the nominations and**** the previous reviews! Hope you enjoyed this one. Nemma x **


	56. Chapter 56 - Recompense

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! :)**

**Recap: Lilith, Mara's child by blood is dead. And little Claire has been taken. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 56: Recompense – POV

_Lilith is dead_. Mara's own daughter was gone. I did not know how Riana would act to the news, but once Randall had spoken those three words all blood drained from her face. Riana was as pale as a ghost. Her lips began to tremble, her breathing grew erratic and she started to shake her head saying, "No, no, no", over and over again. She stood, starting to pace.

I looked to Edward but his gaze was blank. Focussed and concentrated. A frustrated frown marred his brow. I understood, I could not understand her chaotic thoughts either.

"Jasper," he said quietly and a sudden wave of calm fell over the room.

She seemed to calm. Her muscles eased. So I tried talking, "Riana, what's wrong?"

Rising, I went to her side and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The touch made her start, but once she saw who it was she relaxed once again. What had her so anxious?

"Riana…"

"I didn't know," she gasped, eyes wide. "This is bad. This is very, _very_ bad…"

"What is? What's bad?" I asked. Then I felt immediate chagrin. Of course I knew what was bad. She had just found out that one of her sisters had died. Silly, insensitive Bella. I had always thought that they weren't that close, apparently I had misjudged. Riana was near distraught. Gently, I tried again, "Lilith's death is tragic but we knew a number of them had… passed on. You saw them for yourself." My words didn't appear to have any effect.

"Our Queen lost her heir!" Riana threw up her arms. "Our sister is dead!"

I looked around. The vampires looked just as helpless as I felt; except for Randall.

"I would never have suggested… if I had known…" she continued to mumble and pace.

"She was not the only one lost at First Beach, Riana. You know that. Forgive my callousness but, why is her loss that much more important than any of our other sisters?"

She paused, turning to pin me with her gaze. Her expression crumpled with sympathy.

"You don't understand, do you?" Before I could speak her eyes squeezed tight and she shook her head, beginning to pace again. "I was sure I would have recognised her," she continued, rubbing her lips with her agitated fingers, "I should have seen her body."

"She wasn't one of the dead at First Beach," Randall spoke up.

"What…?" Riana's head snapped up.

"Lilith did not die there," he stressed.

"But you said-"

"-She is dead, yes." He nodded gravely, still seated in his lone armchair, "but she did not die there. A piece of shrapnel off one of the boats pierced her side from one of the bomb-blasts, I believe, and there was the broken tip of a harpoon wedged into her thigh, but she managed to make it back to Dakara with many of the other sisters. My Kiera carried her. Mara nursed her personally but… there really wasn't anything that could have been done. She did not linger on long. I think she clung on only long enough to get home to her mother."

There was something horribly sad about that. At Carlisle's side Esme placed a hand to her lips and whimpered – sharing the loss of a girl she had never met, and likely would not have liked, but Esme had a true mother's heart.

I did not know what else to say. I didn't know what to do. I had never known someone who had died so young. I should have been sad, shouldn't I? That was appropriate. But I couldn't feel any grief within me for the feral, blonde girl. Lilith and I had never been that close and mermaids weren't supposed to feel that way. They weren't supposed to feel at all – according to Mara. Riana did though, and this news had hit her hard.

"What about your venom…?" Riana asked Randall. "Couldn't you have changed her?"

"I do not think she would have wanted that. She was born at sea, she has never wished for land-legs. But even if she had I was not there to ask. I was away hunting."

The room was so silent that we could hear the wind whistle through the trees outside, the far-off chirp of birds and the drone of cars. Nearer, there was a bark – a wolf's – and a few seconds later Jake was bounding across the lawn in cut-off shorts sporting a big grin.

"Hey, vamps, vampettes, and other supernatural beings," he called, bounding through the door. He vaguely noted Randall's presence but made no comment, and then the atmosphere seemed to hit him too. "Whoa," he said, slowing, "who died?"

A loud keening noise burst from Riana and she clamped her hands over her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Jake strode to her side, stricken at her pain, "Riana?"

She collapsed to her knees and brought Jake along with her. Panic filled his brown eyes and they darted around, looking for information. They locked onto me but all I could do was shrug. I had no idea what to do. This was true grief and the strength of it was astounding. I could see it, _feel_ it, swirling in a turbulent blue-black storm of thought. It was taking all of my effort just to deflect it and not become absorbed by the same mire that was pulling her down. It still made little sense to me. Luckily, upstairs Kali sleeping mind was ignorant to her suffering. In the end Jake did the only thing he really could, he hugged her, gently, riding the storm with her.

However, his attempt at comfort had the complete opposite effect to what he intended.

Riana's frame stiffened, back growing taut, muscles tightening. Then she lurched away.

"You murdered Lilith, the first and only trueborn child of our queen…" she gasped, pushing him away and skidding back on the carpet on hands and knees. There were true tears in her eyes I was shocked to see, and the flesh around them was red and puffy. "A whole host of mermaids were witness to it. Now you've started a war you can't possibly win!"

What? What was she talking about…?

"I-I don't understand…" Sat on his haunches, Jake looked helplessly to Edward. As did the rest of us. When my eyes fell upon him, the confused frown had changed. Now it was still, locked in place and holding. I knew that look, I could translate it. It was realisation.

He swallowed hard. "One of the mermaids killed by the attack at First Beach seems to have been a Princess of their kind," he rigidly explained to everyone else. "Riana has just learnt that she is dead. It… it is very bad news… for more than one reason…"

What did that mean? My eyes were full of inquiry as I looked to him but he was still focussed on Riana, his topaz eyes darkening with worry, and he wouldn't meet my gaze.

"I'm sorry, Riana," Jake gaped, hands open and useless. "I don't know what to say…"

"No," she moaned, droplets trailing down her cheeks. "You don't understand. I'm not crying for her, I'm crying for _you_. You have no idea what this means. It's as good as a declaration of all-out war!"

"I don't understand," he repeated, with a frown. "You knew many had died before, you wanted them to be buried at sea. _We did that_. What makes this girl so different to the others?"

Riana swiped at her eyes. "She is different because she is Mara's _own_, our Queen's blood child." She paused, drawing a shaky breath. "It makes all the difference in the world."

Carlisle stood slowly and walked over to kneel at her side. "We had not intended to attack your kind," he said, playing the role of mediator. "It was an accident."

And in truth the vampires had played no part in 'the attack' at all. None of them had participated. But it was just like Carlisle to include himself in the blame.

"If you can call Balthazar an accident," Jake hissed suddenly, emphatically, "he was the one that set up the attack. Damn the man." Jake looked as though he ready to punch something. Around him some of the other Cullens nodded in silent agreement.

"Accident or no, it still happened," Riana said, wiping her eyes. She appeared so weary now, as if she bore a great weight that had not been present before, "and now you'll have to live with the consequences of that." She shared a brief glance with me and rose to her feet. Carlisle and Jake followed suit. She straightened. "We suggest you stay out of the water."

The statement was bleak. She was distancing herself. I could see it her eyes, _feel_ it in her mind. The shutters were falling down, locking off her thoughts and opinions. Now her mind was clearer I could get a sense of it though, however much she shut off. She felt that all of those involved with the ones at First Beach were damned, or soon would be. The mermaid's retribution would be strong and swift and any who stood in their way would fall victim to it too, including those in this very room, those that I loved; those that she… No, she wouldn't think of it. She would not admit to an attachment because it would soon be moot. Everything I had here, everything she had built with Jake, would crumble once we were called to fight on Mara's behalf. Mara would make it so… with her _mind manipulation._

As soon as that thought passed between us I froze. She knew I'd heard it, the sad green of her eyes softened with resignation. To her, this was inevitable. Almost without thinking, I turned slowly to Edward. In stark contrast to defeated Riana's gaze, his blazed like fire - angry and determined. He'd heard.

I swallowed hard, and I knew he could see the fear in my eyes. Without saying a word he strode forward and encased me in the strong cold of his arms. The embrace was familiar and grounding and I held on back, with as much strength as I could muster. They wouldn't take me away from him. Mara wouldn't take me away from him, not again.

"Never," Edward grated, a cool breath in my ear, "Never again. I won't let that happen."

I remembered well the draw, that horrible pulling within my head that felt as if my very soul was draining away, that numb, cloying cold that crept in and occupied the empty space after. My hands tightened, knuckles growing white, and I hid in the crook of his shoulder. I could not go through that again. I would not allow her to dictate my actions once more.

Riana's thought was vague and resigned. _You'll have no choice_.

A different kind of cold settled into my gut. _Can it really work at such distances_, I asked nervously,_ when we cannot even hear the voices of our sisters in the ocean from here?_

This time I peeked out while awaiting her answer. Riana looked at me, her green eyes weighted with sadness, her curling mass a bright red hair tangled and limp, and shrugged. _I do not know, but I think we will find out soon enough_. _The battle lines will be drawing up_.

Everyone else was oblivious to the conversation going on between us three. Many of them had said nothing while this scene played out, though our silent interlude had not gone unnoticed. Emmett and Jasper were talking to Randall now, quietly prying him for details as Jacob and Esme moved to try and assuage Riana. All cast us the odd glance from the corners of their eyes. Alice sat frowning on the couch, her eyes distant as she rubbed the sides of her head – likely trying to force a vision of the upcoming future. It didn't look like she was having any success. Carlisle watched us more closely than the rest, though he said nothing.

After a moment I blinked at Riana. Surely she was overreacting. Battle lines? That seemed far too dramatic to me. Then I frowned, conveying as much to her through my mind. Aloud, I spoke. "Perhaps there is time to rectify the damage, Perhaps we can talk to her-"

A howl cut me off; a wolf's and not a normal one – it was high and drawn-out.

And grief-stricken.

In the woods to the back came the tramp of many padded feet, I could hear them running even from inside. Jake was not the first outside, that was Carlisle and Jasper. Edward and Emmett swiftly followed and in their wake, and the sudden absence of his arms left me reeling for a moment before I went to Riana and helped her to the backdoor. She seemed to need my strength; she leant on me heavily as we jogged. Randall followed us quietly.

When we reached the moonlit grass, three of the Pack had already un-phased while the others paced restlessly between the pine trees at their backs. I recognised Sam first, as he strode through the moon-dappled shadows, then Embry at his side and Quil trailing at the rear. He looked positively ragged, both broken and incensed as his eyes darted about. He shook too, vibrating all over as if he were having trouble simply maintaining his current human form. But… Quil was always so light-hearted and happy. He had _excellent_ control.

Now he looked to be on the verge of a breakdown.

"We need your help, Bella's help, and Riana's," Sam demanded as he came to a halt at the crowd's front. At his side, Embry gasped, "A child's life is at stake! _Please_."

"What's this about?" Carlisle asked, looking between them, "What is going on?"

Edward straightened and murmured, "Oh no…"

In fear, I looked to him, inspecting his expression. His face was sad, it crumpled as he placed a hand over it. What?! What had happened?! What was I not hearing?! Being mute to the minds around me had never been so incredibly frustrating, but now I wished for the easy communication I enjoyed at the Colony, that simple way that knowledge flowed unhindered.

With a shaky breath Sam stepped forward, holding out something dark in his hand.

"This message was delivered in a bottle to the shore of First Beach," he said, handing Carlisle a waxy length of flat green weed. He unrolled it and scanned what lay within. Unable to control the need, I limped closer until I could read over his elbow.

...

Land-walkers,

You have taken from us what was not rightly yours to take. In what we understood to be an offer of peace you brought weaponry. You attacked and killed our own. Our kind will not leave these crimes un-avenged and so in recompense we have taken our due. You took our daughters, now we have taken yours.

Her bones will decorate the sea-bed.

...

I hardly dared to ask, but when no one else spoke, I did, in a pale low voice.

"Whose bones…?" The clickish question was faint, and could only be understood by so many and that did not include the wolves. Before my frustration could get the better of me Edward quietly repeated it in English.

Quil was the one to answer; his thick voice heavy with defeat. "They took Claire."

…

**Gearing up to some big stuff! You know the wolves aren't just gonna sit back while one of their imprints is not only MIA, but in the clutches of blood-thirsty mermaids… **

**Hope you enjoyed this one. Nemma x **


	57. Chapter 57 - The Plan

**Hi everyone. Finally I'm logged in properly! I've had some issues with this account over the last month. Nothing has worked right. I kept being cut out and couldn't upload or answer queries. It got fixed, shortly, then… bleh. Dead again. So frustrating! It sounds like I wasn't the only one, but it seems to be fixed now. At last I can finally, **_**finally**_** upload this chapter. For future reference, if anything goes wrong, SS is on other sites – though most are further behind than this one. Hope you all had a great Christmas! Thank you for all of the wonderful messages. Nemma x **

**Recap: Lilith, Mara's child by blood is dead. And little Claire has been taken. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 57: The Plan – BPOV

"It never ends for us," Edward said as he paced our room. He had been doing that for the last half hour or so, ever since we had retreated up here for the night after an extensive discussion with the Pack. I sat on the bed, slowly fraying a corner of the comforter. "_Why_ does it never end for us?" he went on. "It seems like every time we manage to cultivate so much as a sprout of happiness something happens to stunt it, to prevent it growing into a full bloom."

I said nothing. I had no answer for that. Sometimes fate sucked.

"Bella," he said, crouching before the bed and taking my hands from the covers, "_please_ reconsider, you do not have to go through with this."

"I don't see any other way." I tried to smile but it felt too forced. "It's a good idea."

His eyes flashed, so much darker than the room around us. Dangerously black.

"_Anything_ that puts you in danger is a _bad_ idea," he stressed. "I would never force you to do anything you do not want to do. I've learnt that mistake the hard way. But please do not go through with this, for me?"

His eyes held mine. Molten amber, raw and swirling. He was so hard to refuse when he looked at me that way – as if my next words might shatter him. Which I guessed they might, depending on what happened. I had to look away, back to my nervously twisting fingers.

"I could never live with myself knowing that I could have done something to save that little girl and just… not." I paused, taking a breath. "Besides, the danger is minimal."

It had taken some time for Carlisle and Jasper to create any kind of semblance of order once Quil had made his announcement. The Wolves were a mess of nerves and barely restrained anger. Not at us, lucky. But it had taken them all some time to stop shaking. Quill still hadn't. An hour of calming down followed, then a further hour and a half of debate. Between us and the Wolves we had come up with only one viable route to get Claire back unharmed.

Riana and I would return to the Colony to fetch her back, if it was not already too late.

Edward had shot the idea down straight away. So had Jake. They had been overruled.

"Any level of threat is unacceptable," Edward grated now.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head. I felt for him. My heart ached. But this was non-negotiable. Gently, I raised my hand and pressed my palm to his cheeks. His shaking slowed to a stop and he grasped my hand, pressing it more firmly to his flesh, as if it were his one lifeline. In a way, it was. If this backfired the consequences could be deadly for us both.

But I refused to think of that.

"There has to be another way," he rasped, almost a growl, "an option we have not considered."

"If you have one I'm all ears." If a whole night spent debating amongst immortals hadn't come up with one though, I doubted it existed. It really was the only way.

"Mara cares for me," I said gently, "she will listen to me, and Riana will be there too. We have to try diplomacy first. The last thing we want is a repeat of First Beach."

Words were meaningless. I had spoken them all before. We had argued back and forth until I was going hoarse from chirping and Edward was pulling out his hair at the roots and we were both bone-weary of it. Neither of us wanted to argue anymore. I was resolved, and it seemed Edward was too. Now it seemed we were at a mutual stalemate, and we both just wanted to spend what time we had left together, before I returned to the ocean.

"It won't be forever," I reminded him. He only stared at the quilts, lips pressed tight.

"Jasper has a theory, you know," I tried to chat conversationally, "That the only reason I fell under Mara's mental influence before was because I didn't know what she was doing. He believes that with fore-knowledge, and my mental-blip, I'll be able to avoid it this time."

The idea did not seem to comfort him; if anything he looked even more stressed.

"I'm scared," he finally whispered, so quiet I almost didn't hear him. "I'm scared that you'll remember what it's like to live free and unhindered in the sea. I'm scared that their hive-mind will compel you to stay there, away from me, as it did before. I'm scared that that _woman_ will get inside your head again and make you forget. I'm scared that you'll succumb… I'm scared-" He broke off, biting his lip. God, I wanted to hold him. I'd never seen him look so vulnerable – his emotions lay bare and exposed.

My arms wound about his waist, and as he pulled me down off the bed and onto his lap on the shadowy floor and pressed me to his chest, his arms shook.

I wanted to deny his fears and assure him. I wanted to tell him that he had nothing to worry about. But I couldn't. It would feel like a lie. It _would be_ a lie. His fears were very real.

Minimal danger? Not with a hoard of unpredictable, blood-thirsty, anger-driven mermaids.

I tried to imbue my voice with determination.

"Edward, I won't let that happen, any of it. _I am coming back_."

More than a promise it was a vow.

His eyes were half-hidden by shadow, but my new night-sensitive eyes could see them more clearly than my human's. They looked tortured. "I cannot bear to lose you again."

"I know," I said, nearing tears. "I know. I promise to come back, I _vow_ it." My eyes burned and blurred as I whispered, fiercely, "I love you, remember, forever."

Raising my hand between us, I allowed my engagement ring to a catch the moonlight. A tangible, physical sign of my commitment to him.

He buried his face in the crook of my neck, brushing his cheeks back and forth. "Forever," he repeated. Then his face rose and his cold firm lips met mine, pressing harder than they ever had before, firm, as smooth as marble. There was a keen edge of desperation to his kiss, one that stung my raw nerves. And as his hands wound into my hair, drawing me close and deepening the kiss, I lost myself to the passion he offered with all of his heart.

The night dissolved into heated kisses and frantic touches, caresses that soothed and chilled and burnt, and the sweet intoxication of his honeyed breath that left me breathless.

He reminded me with every move of his love, of his passion, of his fear. And in return I met him as his equal, his true mate. We spoke little; we didn't need words, only each other.

This was the last night we would spend together before my departure, both of us knew the risks and the potential for disaster, and with that in mind, we did not care who heard us.

…

The following dawn found us fresh and ready to take on the world at the sandy shores of First Beach down at La Push. Edward had pulled out my kelp-weave belt and dagger sheath from a container in his closet and silently handed them to me before we left. Now, he helped me fasten them under my shirt, about my bare waist, as we stood on the grainy sand waiting.

The other Cullens were arrayed around us in a loose circle, quietly discussing their own things. Rosalie had brought Kali along, at her insistence, but she was not going to return with us. And Riana… after the night's meeting she had disappeared into the trees with Jake. As far as I could tell, neither had been seen since. Randall too, joined us on the briny shore.

"This is not my battle to partake in," he said. "I fear I must remain neutral in this."

"Neutral, huh," I clicked, as I adjusted my belt, "You're on Kiera's side."

The belt was wound securely around my waist under my shirt – or rather Edward's shirt. I wore his when I planned to go swimming as they were long and the easiest to remove under water.

"And _Kiera_ has no side," he said, pinning me with a look. "She is loyal to Mara but does not share all of her views. She loves her sisters too. And that includes you. Now," he clapped his hands, "I am in need of a hunt. I require sustenance before I return to the sea."

Carlisle stopped him. "May I remind you to please venture out of our territory before you feed?"

"Of course," he nodded, before facing me again, "I wish you luck, young Bella."

With that he vanished into the trees, a flash of white merging into the greenery. I wondered then, if I had managed to bypass Mara during my time in the Colony and ask him to pass on a message to Edward, would he have done it? Or would he have considered it to be going against Kiera? I guess it did not matter now. I would never know.

Quiet fell as we waited for the pack to arrive. They planned to meet us here. Nothing broke the silence but the sounds of the tide lapping at the shore, and the clatter of little rocks rolling in its grip. Birds called, distant and faint, and somewhere a jet-washer was going.

From Edward's arms I watched the water, breathing it in and becoming reacquainted with its scent: salt and rust and crisp clear air. Ah, it called to me, it made the skin of my legs tingle with anticipation. I could not wait to break free and fly beneath the water in a way I had been denied for so long. At home the tank was good, but nothing could compare with the free unencumbered tides. In a way I could see why Edward worried I may not come back. Likely he'd seen its draw in Riana's mind. But I chose him, and I would always choose him.

It wasn't even a sacrifice.

Eventually Edward asked if I would like him to help me get ready. I nodded. I could do it alone, sure, but there was something endearing about him helping me out of my clothes. Our impending separation made it sweeter. Shoes went first, then socks and sweatpants. I held onto his shoulders as I stepped out of them. The shirt remained; I would toss it back once I was out in the bay. We ignored the other Cullens. It wasn't like I was stripping, after all. I was just going for a dip. Once we were done Edward stood – at least a head higher than me – and leant down for a kiss. His lips lingered longer than they needed too. My eyes shut.

The muffled press of footsteps on sand draw our attention, and looking back I saw Jake and Riana heading our way alone, hand in hand, out of the forest.

"Hey leeches," Jake called… perhaps a tad more jovial than he should have been considering the situation.

Carlisle stepped forward looking over his shoulder. "Where's the rest of the pack?"

"They're on their way. They're just waiting on Seth and Colin."

The smile he sported was strange, like a grin he was trying and failing to suppress. The corners of his lips kept tipping and it seemed to be infectious because Riana was acting much the same. I'd never seen him smile quite like that. It was… weird.

"Hey Edward, Bells," he nodded as they got closer.

"Hey yourself," I clicked, frowning. What was it about that smile?

There was a crescent-shaped wound healing on his collar-bone, just visible, half-hidden beneath the collar of his shirt. Edward noticed it too and raised an eyebrow at Jake, whose russet skin darkened noticeably. Was Jake _blushing_?

"_Shut up_," he hissed at Edward, who held up his hands with a smug grin.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it," he mumbled, to which Edward smirked and crinkled his nose.

"No, I wasn't," he said pointedly, "but _you_ were. Enough of the visuals please."

_What _are_ they talking about? _I projected to Riana, marvelling at the puzzlement of boys and only half-expecting an answer. When I got one in the form of a quickly muffled flash I jumped back, mouth open. _Oh, eww, did not need to see that. He's my best friend!_

She shrugged, only a little embarrassed. _I said he looked pretty before, well he's stunning when he's naked_.

"_Too_ much information, Riana." The girl was shameless; so was her smile.

The rest of the Pack arrived not long after that, mercifully, just as Riana was disposing of her socks and shoes. She wore a pale blue sundress today – which would be easy to discard. Sam strode up to our group first, in human form. Embry stuck close, with Quil on his flank. The boy looked wretched. Like he had not slept in days rather than just one night.

"Everything set?" Sam asked, straight to business.

"We're ready when you are," Riana chirped. It could have been any other day to her.

Her breeziness was not a shared trait, behind her the other wolves paced and growled, even in their human forms. Some couldn't seem to stop from shaking.

"We could all go _now_," Paul said. "We can all swim, and we can't drown since Bella and Riana gave us their kisses. We're ready!"

"And willing," Jared seconded.

"No!" Sam barked. "We have to try Bella and Riana's way first. You know that."

Suddenly Quil was in front of me, his dark eyes boring into mine. In his gaze I lost my breath; such pain… "Bring her back safely," he quietly begged, "please Bella."

Words failed me. All I could do was nod. It wasn't enough, it never would be.

"We'll do all we can, sport," Riana said as she strolled by.

They moved away, giving us space as Riana and I approached the shore. After a few brief words the Cullens stepped back too. All but _him_, I could feel him at my back as I stared over the infinite waves, even though I could not see him. I turned to face him slowly.

"There's still time to reconsider," Edward said, "I can still come with you. Just me."

"And me," Jake swiftly added, stepping forward. "If the vamp goes so do I!"

Riana sighed with an exaggerated dose of bluster. "And then Quil would follow you, then Embry, then Sam, then _everyone else_. We don't need mollycoddling, we'll be fine!"

"We will," I agreed, even as Edward flinched at that word 'fine'. He hated it.

"Bella," his eyes were pleading. I hated doing this to him but it needed to be this way.

"We have to go _alone_, Edward," I repeated, for what felt like the hundredth time, "only Riana and I. If you come with us it will look threatening."

The mermaids were too unpredictable, who know what they'd do if anyone but their own encroached on their territory. No matter their previous celebratory statuses.

Mermaids were predators first and people second. Feral to a fault.

"She's right, Edward," Carlisle added. "Perhaps this can still be resolved peacefully."

I nodded. "I think that if we bring anyone else with us she may act rashly. Mara isn't thinking straight right now, but if we talk to her we could probably just _ask_ for Claire back. There will be no loss of pride in her giving Claire back through _us_, and perhaps once she has had time to think on what she has done, it will seem like a good option to her."

That was the logic Riana and I were working with anyway. It was our communal hope.

"She does not like to see girls hurt, of any age," Riana added as she passed her shoes to Jake and adorned her belt. "It goes against her ethics and her nature. So I think this'll work."

A little figure suddenly rushed up from Rosalie's side.

"I want to come too! Let me!"

"No!" Rosalie gasped at the same time Riana knelt before her and spoke. "No, Kali. We need you here. You still have you're part to play for us. You're our Plan B, remember?"

She popped her nose with her finger and Kali frowned but nodded solemnly.

"Plan B?" Sam quizzed. This was something that had been decided after the Pack left. Something that'd begun as an excuse to keep Kali onshore but quickly became a valid reason.

"In case this does not work, Kali is willing to offer her help," Carlisle started. "She is one of Mara's most treasured daughters. If she refuses to release Claire, we keep Kali."

"Kali is not a hostage," Rosalie hissed, wrapping her arms around the small girl.

"She is now," Edward said, eyes on me.

If it came to it, they would use Kali to not only bargain for Claire's life, but Riana's and mine as well. He would have Jake's support in that too, I knew. I only hoped it would not come to that. Neither the Cullens nor the Wolves would ever harm her, but they would take other measures. And, even though Kali sighed, she was resolved to that course too.

"And we need to _know_ she is," Riana said, straightening and becoming serious. "Mara is an adept mind reader, and her reach is deep. She'll know through us if you don't mean it."

"Understood." Edward nodded. "You know well that we will not harm her, but… if the Quileute child is not released, and either of you are not allowed to return to us, then we will keep her from Mara. Mara will not see her again. We can move far away and take her with us, deep in land where she cannot reach. We can build a saltwater tank for her anywhere, no matter how arid the region, how thick with forest… or we can remain. The choice is hers."

Riana nodded, solemn. "I'll remember that message."

"I know you will."

Time was moving on and we needed to go. Everyone sensed it; the air was tense.

Jake stepped up to Riana then, taking her hands, "Be careful," he said, "please, Ri."

Edward and I merely shared a look as his hand trailed the length of my cheek.

"You are my life," he whispered. "I'll be waiting on this shore until you come home."

We did not hug, we did not kiss. We did not say good-bye. All of that felt too final, and this was not our end. I was determined of that.

As my feet met the saltwater the tingles began to play across the length of my skin. Ah, such a familiar and welcome sensation. Beside me, Riana sighed and I knew that she was feeling the same thing. Together we waded into the surf. White foam frothed around our legs and we swayed with the movements of the water. Soon, up to our waists, the sea took our legs and gave us tails. Scales shivered up our torsos and we tossed our clothing back to land.

_Hmm, free water_, Riana exulted, _how I have missed it_.

Up on the beach little Kali huffed her displeasure but said nothing of it.

"Best get moving," I clicked.

I swished my tail experimentally, twisting and curving easily in the tide.

Riana smiled, gesturing to the horizon, "Lead the way."

As we splashed down, the last thread of conversation at First Beach followed us.

Emmett was speaking. "Those are some bad-ass mermaid's bites you two are sporting there… when did you get those?" There was an awkward silence, followed by Rosalie's muffled whisper. "Wait, _that's_ what those bite marks are from!" Emmett guffawed, loud and hard. "Wow, mermaid hickys? Really? You boys have some kinky bedroom antics."

Edward scoffed. "Oh, like you don't!"

Luckily the water obscured the rest of their words and Riana and I concentrated on our task ahead. We would need all of our focus if we were going to pull this off successfully.

Together, we disappeared into the murky blue.

… 

**I'm simply blown away by how many reviews SS has gained so far, we're nearing 1000 people! *Happy dance*. Thank you for being so supportive and sending such encouraging words. I do read them all, even if I don't answer them every chap (whether due to work or system errors on ff net), and I appreciate the time you take to send them. :) **

**In other news: so psyched, someone from America sent me a photo of my gothic book in a real live book-store! :D It was on the floor (new stock), but still! And Rob Attack did a lovely review of SS just before Christmas. I think a few of you heard about this story through them, so thank you very much Rob Attack's team! *waves* Btw, if you haven't checked out their site yet, do. They list some great twifics! **

**Happy New Year all. Hope 2016 is a good one for you. Nemma x **


	58. Chapter 58 - An Unexpected Welcome Home

**Hi everyone! Yeah, it's been a while. There's a few reasons for that, some of you know them, but I'll leave the A/N to the end and let you enjoy a nice long update. ;) Thanks for all the wonderful messages from last chapter, they made me smile. :D Happy reading! Nemma x **

**Recap: Claire has been taken, and Bella and Riana are mounting a solo rescue mission and heading back to the Colony. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 58: An Unexpected Welcome Home – BPOV

Night had fallen by the time we'd navigated our way back through the strong ocean currents. The Colony was a bright light on the sea-bed, like a beacon calling us back. I was surprised by the light it emitted, usually it was so… bleak. Mara valued its obscurity. There was a lot of noise coming from within it too, it sounded like a sorority house gone wild.

_Something has them riled_, Riana silently projected, _no guesses as to what_.

The cacophony rose up, not only audible but mental calls; a menagerie of different tones and timbres rolled into one. It was disorienting, even more so after weeks without.

For a moment I had to pause, to becoming reacquainted with the feeling. Riana waited patiently, saying nothing until I nodded and we swam on.

Inside, the dome was full of flashing tails; a magnetic rainbow of glinting colour. No one accosted us as we dived through the open ceiling, no one started or so much as turned our way. All were too preoccupied with what was happening on the dome's sandy floor; all thought focussed that way and among the barely discernible chittering clicks I only caught a few words, like 'follow' and 'oar' and 'light'. Their projected imagery made even less sense. Although, judging by the level of fear and uncertainty, and the amount of memories that involved screaming and fire in the water, I guessed that many were still mulling over the events of First Beach. They were still shaken by it, even if they had contributed to the chaos.

"Daughters!" Mara called from the floor's centre. "I know this must be frightening, we live in frightening times. The hunters have their technology now, their ships and satellites, but we are not without protection. Things are being done to keep us secure here in our home."

The gleam in her eyes was almost maniacal. My gut twisted uncomfortably, a warning.

_This is bad, I liked the wolves_, Tara lamented to our far left.

_We'll never be able to play in the bay with them now_, another unfamiliar face sighed, the hive-mind called her Mirrate, _and I was so sure that Jared was my soulmate_…

Riana cut a path through the crowd, pushing and shoving until she reached the front. I followed close behind.

"Mara!" she called over the uproar. "Mara!"

As our Queen focussed on her a wave of surprise rolled over the sisters closest. They parted for us like a shoal of startled fish then, clearing the way to the floor.

_They're back! They're back!_

_How?_

_Wasn't Bella captured?_

_I heard Riana was dead! When we no longer heard her mind…_

"Riana! Bella!" Mara gasped. Flitting forward she gripped both of our arms. Her face showed shock but her dark eyes were as enigmatic as ever. "Oh, my daughters," she gushed, "my sweet lost girls, you're alive!"

For the first time ever she drew us into a rib-crushing hug, squeezing us close. I was confused, Riana equally so, but we allowed it. When she drew back, two of the elder sisters were at her shoulders, golden-haired Kiera and dark-skinned Danica. Mara eyed us keenly.

"But what happened? You have both been gone for so long! We feared the worst!"

"_You_ were last seen being taken away by Balthazar's men," Kiera added, watching me closely. She did not speak unkindly but with an edge of curiosity. She tilted her head.

"I was rescued," I said.

When I did not expand on that they frowned. Mara's eyes darted between us. Behind them and around us a crowd of anxious onlookers was forming. Their minds edged around the periphery of ours, attentively reaching out, probing, wondering what memories we held.

I kept them close sharing nothing, yet.

"The vampires took us in," Riana explained. "The Cullens have been taking care of us."

Gasps followed.

Mara blinked. "You've been living with land-walkers?"

"_Vampires_," Riana confirmed, "our cousin-species."

'Land-walkers' was an almost derogatory term among our kind, but Lilith had always thought of vampires as family. I commended Riana's tact. I, however, had none.

"We learnt to walk too," I added.

More gasps were followed, all overridden by Mara's snake-like _hiss_.

"Lies!" she spat, teeth bared, fangs sharp and free.

_Wow, overreaction_, Riana quietly projected, only to me, _if I didn't know better I'd say that was emotional_.

_She has just lost Lilith_, I silently said.

_Yes and she's a mermaid, a supposedly _emotionless_ being. If we cannot feel then why act like that!_ Aloud Riana said, "It's not a lie though, is it? Because we _can_ walk after the change, on land our legs reform. We don't lose our emotions either, at least not when we're away from the colony…" Horror filled her eyes, like she'd come to some awful realisation. "Do you… do you purposefully _suppress_ them while we're here? You do, don't you?!"

No answer. Mara's black eyes bored into her, deep and hard and fathomless.

"I never stopped loving Edward…" I quietly added. "My feelings for him never went away, however dulled they were at some points."

"And I didn't feel like I had lived until I met Jake. In fact, the longer I've lived on land the clearer my head has been." The horror morphed into something else, something much more hurt – betrayal. "Did you truly not know about our legs or…?"

Still Mara made no response. But at her sides her pale hands twitched.

"That is not why we are here," I swiftly interrupted Riana. The tension was rising, whispers were starting to surround us, and we could not afford this argument now. I touched Riana's arm, drawing her gaze. "We came back for a reason, remember?"

Mara's dark eyes flashed to me. "You did not return to join your sistren?"

"No," I said, "A child has been taken from the reservation, a young girl."

Her expression cleared, growing lax. "Ah yes, I know of the one you speak of," she nodded. "She was taken in recompense for the blood-debt owed. I picked her up myself."

Oh, we had hoped that perhaps it had been an action of another sister, one who would be subject to Mara's judgement. No such luck.

"The girl is only a child, Mara, four," Riana quietly said, "younger than our Kali-"

"-Kali," she gasped. "Have you seen her?!"

Her eyes glazed and I could feel her combing our minds, her probing was like skittering roots across our thoughts, tendrils that pricked and poked and stung. I shivered.

"Yes… yes, you have… she resides with the vampires as we speak…" The idea seemed to trouble her.

"Kali is fine," Riana quickly assured her, "she is safe with them, but they are holding her until we deliver the little Quileute girl home. It is their condition for her return."

Her glazed eyes refocused; sharp and unforgiving.

"Then they will have a long wait," she spat. "Claire will remain here with us. Perhaps I will add her to our Colony. She is young, but we have included the young before."

"You cannot be serious," I gasped. "She's four! You'd freeze her as she is forever."

"Either that or kill her," she deadpanned, "what would you prefer, Bella? I am offering a most gracious alternative. They have a blood-debt to pay. I only took _one_ of their children, they took _many_ more of mine, including my own Lilith."

Riana interrupted. "You do realise that by doing this you abandon Kali to them?"

The idea did not seem to concern her now. She waved it away with an elegant swish.

"The Cullens would not have returned her either way. The one called Rosalie is too attached, she would never allow it. I can see that in your minds. They will not harm her, so all we can do is hope that in time she will find her way back to us. She is an immortal, after all, she has nothing but time." Her eyes grew hard one again, jet black. "Claire stays."

No indecision, no leeway for sway.

She was resigned. I could see that. The fact that Kali was gone made little difference.

Perhaps she was not lying, perhaps some mermaids did not possess emotion.

_Or selective emotion_, Riana projected. _Kiera is remembering how she cried over Lilith_.

Then Riana sighed sadly. "Then we should return to the surface with your answer."

"No you will not," Mara snapped with a viper flick of her tail. Scales glinted menacingly. "You will stay here, where you belong. No more surface visits, for anyone!"

"I will leave if I wish to," I warned, already edging back.

She couldn't confine me here. I wouldn't, _couldn't_, let that happen again. I couldn't do that to Edward. I had made a promise.

The dome's entrance was not far, and we could move like lightning-

"Will you?" Mara all but whispered.

That draining sensation began, that slow pull at the back of my mind, dragging memories of Edward and feelings of love and comfort and home away with it. Why would I want to go back? Land was harsh and gritty, sun-burnt, not like the smooth silk of the ocean's water, a soft caress all around. My sisters were here, they needed me. They-

Mind manipulation!

I snapped, baring my teeth. Fangs indented my lower lip, I could feel their press.

For an instant Mara looked startled, as if this had never happened before, but the instant passed swiftly and her gaze grew blank and fathomless once again.

"So you would what?" I hissed. "Force me to stay, like an Alpha's command?!"

Anger flooded my veins, heated my vision to red. How _dare_ she try that again!

"I do not enjoy disciplining my daughters," she said stoically, "but if you force my hand, Bella, I will. You must return to our fold, you know this, on land you will die."

My reply was cut short by Riana's pinch. Only then did I realise that she was gripping my shoulder, and her fingers squeezed as tight as any vice. When had she grabbed me?

"Okay," she said, "Yes, Mara, I am sorry for doubting your rule. Bella is too. I will take her to our cave now; she is very tired, likely because she has been in the sun too long."

It took a long time for Mara to nod; when she did the motion put my nerves on edge.

"Yes," she said slowly, "you should rest. When you awaken food will be prepared for you." Her face grew kind, she touched our cheeks. "I am glad you are returned safely, girls."

We moved away quietly, the crowd around us parting again, this time like a silent wave.

Once Riana had ushered me into a nearby tunnel lined with luminesce blue anemones, she double-checked our surroundings, listened for eavesdroppers – there were none – and allowed her head to flop back against the wall with a dull bubbly thud.

"Sorry," she said, with her eyes squeezed shut, "but those negotiations were going nowhere but south. I had to stop you."

"No problem," I muttered, suddenly shaken – my mind was still churning, "now what?"

Riana's sigh was heavy. "Somehow I don't think Mara is going to cooperate peacefully, however much we try to convince her."

"At the moment, she does seem a little…" I struggled.

"Psychotically insane," Riana supplied.

"I was going to say sad beyond reason."

She shrugged, "Same thing, prettier words."

A current through the water pushed us a little further into the tunnel and our tails swished automatically to compensate, holding our positions. It was odd and liberating to feel the sea's tug once again. But we had little enough time to enjoy it. Quietly, I spoke.

"While she's in this mind-set I think it's best that we take matters into our own hands."

This had always been a possibility. We had planned and prepared for it. Riana tensed.

"You mean, we grab the kid and high-tail it out of here before Mara flips her sh-"

"-I'm worried about what she might do to Claire." At least she was still alive, whatever else Mara had done she hadn't fallen that far. But she had said that she might turn her…

"So am I," Riana agreed, finally opening her eyes. In the dark they were hard to see, even with my enhanced green-sheened vision, but her hair floated around her in an eerie red halo. "I've never seen her like this before," she added, voice thick with worry. "I've seen her get close to this state, and that was a very bad time, very messy…" she fell into silence and I mentally prodded her with a query. She grimaced. "Let's just say that those who have incurred her wrath before are no longer swimming around to speak about it."

"So… do you agree or disagree with the plan?"

She heaved a sigh. "I agree that Claire should be returned to land, the sooner the better. But I also think that taking her is going to end badly for us." The gaze she pinned me with then was infinitely sad. "We won't be able to return here, ever."

"Is Claire's life worth that?" I knew the answer to that, but did she?

"Yes," she growled, tossing her head back until it hit the tunnel's stone wall. She shut her eyes again. "And here was me hoping for a plan that didn't involve martyrdom."

Well, now that was settled…

"Do you have any idea where she might be being held?"

Pushing herself off the wall, Riana checked back and forth. We had floated quite far down the tunnel, away from the brightest anemones and into the shadows.

"This place is huge she could be anywhere," Riana said. "But, if I was going to make a guess I'd say she was being kept in Mara's suite. There's a chamber at the back of her rooms filled with air. Mara said she _might_ turn her, which means she's still human right now, still breathing. He'll need air. We should try there first."

I gestured for her to swim ahead. "Let's go then."

…

The air-room in Mara's suite was surprisingly spacious. I had never been in one before, although I knew the Colony held many. Most were used to store live… prey, for later consumption. Knowing that, I had steered clear. But now I took time to look around. The ceiling was sea-smoothed and rounded like a bubble, water reflected off its marbled grey surface like spirits in flight, and to the far side was a bank of dry sand that formed a little island. The continent held only one inhabitant. In the far corner she curled into a ball.

"Claire," I said. The sniffling sounds halted. The little girl looked up with wide dark eyes. "Hi, do you remember me? I used to visit your Auntie Emily on the reservation."

"Yes," she sniffled shakily, running a hand under her nose, "you Jake's fwend."

"Yes," I smiled, "I am."

Blinking she rose and stumbled a little closer. Her cheeks were sodden and her eyes were puffy and red. She wore a pink onesie that was still damp. Poor girl could have caught a cold. Several feet from the water's edge she paused and pointed, "Who dat?"

Behind me Riana bobbed, quietly. She said nothing; her sharp eyes were on the exit and her eyes pricked and twitched at the slightest sounds. No one had followed us… so far.

"This is Riana," I said. "She's good." Riana held up a hand adding a 'Yo'. "We're here to take you home."

Her trust was surprising considering how similar we looked to Mara. With no hesitation she stumbled close and held up her chubby little arms. I leant forward and scooped her up, tucking her into my side the way I'd seen Emily do many times before. She was surprisingly heavy.

"One of us is going to need to kiss her to take her back safely," Riana said, while watching over her shoulder to the submerged cave-mouth.

"The black-eyed lady already did that," Claire muttered, "before we came here."

"Of course," I said, "how else could she have gotten her down here?"

"Okay, okay," Riana hissed, agitated, "dumb point, I'm nervous. I don't think so well when I'm nervous. Can we just get the hell out of here now? I feel like a vandal on the look-out for cops."

During her tirade, Claire grabbed a clump of my hair in one hand and buried her face in the side of my neck. I sighed, she must be so frightened.

"Come on, Claire," I smiled. "Let's get you back to Quil and your mom."

…

The tunnels were extensive and dark. Our fortune was two-fold: on one part because Claire stayed as quiet as a mouse; on the other because we did not come across any of the others whatsoever, a blessing considering the Colony's size. Riana was very careful as she scouted ahead but most of the mermaids seemed to be spending the night in the dome.

"What exactly are we looking for, Riana?" I asked after what felt like an hour traversing the farthest depths of the tunnels. We were likely miles away from the main hub.

"An exit," she frowned, "I'm sure it's around here… or was it down the last tunnel?"

"It's tunnel madness down here," I quipped, recalling her comment from so long ago.

"Indeed," she murmured, preoccupied.

"I thought you said the Colony only had one exit? Through the dome's roof."

In fact, she had, I remembered distinctly from when she had shown me around on my first day out amongst the others.

She shrugged. "So I lied to the Newbie who was contemplating a seemingly suicidal escape attempt to the surface, sue me. Not many know about these old routes actually. I only found them by accident a few months ago and I never had any reason to use them before now. Ah!"

There was a muffled grate of stone on stone. In the darkness I watched as Riana shoved a panel of rock, heaving against it with all of her strength, and it tumbled out, leaving a clear opening out onto the wide seabed, just big enough for one of us to fit through at a time.

"There," she said, rubbing her hands of dust clouds, "now, homeward bound."

As we slithered free into the open sea I kept Claire tucked close to my body and a wary eye on the seascape. There was nothing but water, and a barren expanse of sand that stretched for miles out into the murky blue. No fish, no mermaids. Riana double-checked, listening with her mind as well as her ears. She gave a swift nod and we took off heading north.

"Well that little backdoor was a relief," I said as we swam, "I thought we were going to have to figure out some way to smuggle her past all of the sisters, not to mention Mara."

In my arms, Claire shivered at the name.

"That would have been impossible," Riana said bluntly, "and you know it as well as I do." Her eyes were alert, busy scanning our surroundings, so I left her to it, falling silent.

After a while she spoke again. "Is it just me… or does this all feel too easy?"

"I think you've been watching too many movies. Real life isn't always so dramatic."

She she remained on edge, uneasy. I was too, if truth be told, but I was trying to keep calm for Claire. The girl had suffered enough. Nonetheless, it would be an immeasurable relief once we were on dry land again, as far away from the water as possible.

A good two hours into our departure we had yet to see any signs of pursuit. Hopefully we were in the clear. Maybe Mara hadn't even found out yet. How long would she have left Claire in that chamber, alone? It could be hours before she realised she'd gone.

Riana grimaced at the thought. "For our sakes let's hope you're right…"

That was when the alarm went out; a shrill mental screech that breached our mind with its livid demand. _Return the child, traitors!_

"Oh, crap," Riana moaned, gripping her head.

I had no hands free. I could only cringe, struggling not to let my hold on Claire slip. But the pain! My head throbbed! There was a pull along with the command. I really should listen… I shook off the urge easily. Mara was trying to exert her control, but she was either too angry to focus on it or too far away for it to have any affect, or both.

"I think now would be the perfect time to test those speed skills we brag about to the vampires," Riana said shakily, as Claire clung tighter, "we need to swim, and swim _fast_."

We took off like rockets, leaving tell-tale jet-streams of white bubbles in our wake.

"If we can just make it to First Beach," I gasped, exercising my powerful tail while I gripped Claire tighter, "Edward and Jake and the others will be there. We'll have back up!"

"And so will Mara!" she screeched. "The boys will dive into the water as soon as they hear we're in distress. And as soon as Mara realises that they're there she will command those who are with her to kill. We match them strength for strength but doubtless her numbers will exceed theirs. No, what we need to do is get to the closest beach ASAP!"

"How will that help? They'll follow us onto land!"

"No, I don't think they will. Mara either doesn't believe in the walking ability or she doesn't want the others to believe in it. You heard what she said in the dome. She called you a liar. If we head to land and run for the forests she won't follow."

"I hope you're right."

"So do I. To the closest beach then!"

We didn't even make it that far. Mara flanked us, overran us, and with fifteen others at her disposal it wasn't even a fair hunt. They were confused though, uncertain why they were tracking sisters – two who had up, until recently, been lost and had now thankfully returned.

Mara had given no strong reason. Claire did not count as one to them.

In an attempt to dodge the hunting party we dived and weaved between rocks and weeds, but with Claire in my grip it was so much more difficult. She had slowed us down. And now, as we flitted in frantic disorder, she whimpered and wept into my neck. It made it so much harder too that our pursuers could anticipate our every move before we made it.

_Damn mind link_, Riana cursed skittering out of a younger sister's reach.

Claire's distress grew more palpable. She shook and whined and gripped tighter. I wanted to shush her and tell her it would be alright, but I couldn't voice the lie.

"What are you doing?" Mara screeched, at one point. "Return the child at once!"

"She isn't yours," Riana snapped back. "You should never have taken her."

"That is not for you to decide! I am the Queen of this Colony, not you. Hand her over!"

"Never," we yelled as one.

But that was not enough. The sucking vacuum in my mind began, a sensation so chilling in its potency that my movements slowed and my grip on Claire slackened. She cried out, clinging like a limpet, and that action alone held her on. Mara appeared before me. A wave of darkness rolled forth like a squid's ink-mist. It was thick and venomous and for one startled moment I didn't understand what it was, until I felt its accompanying message.

_Deliver the land-walker child to me at once and I may spare your lives_.

This was not just anger, it was wrath. Visible to my mind's eye, palpable and thick.

I knew then, in that moment, that taking Claire had provoked Mara in a worse way than I could have ever anticipated. If I were to give in and hand her back now… it would be ugly.

"Go," Riana thought suddenly, and in a split-second decision that no one could anticipate she ploughed into Mara's side. The Queen screeched, spitting fury as she and Riana grappled and spun. "Go!" Riana screamed, "Land isn't far. You can make it!"

I shook my head to clear it. The others were hanging back, uncertain, so without further thought I flew for the surface. I broke the tide as a scream pierced the waters below.

Land, yes, Riana was right. There was land ahead, not far. The shore was unrecognisable, not First Beach but it would do.

With what strength I had left, I propelled us forward, screaming for Edward the entire way. I didn't know where we were, how far we'd gone, but perhaps he was close. He might hear. Mermaid voices were shrill and loud and carried farther than any human's. I had once damned this alteration, cursed it for causing Edward pain, now it could be our salvation.

We skidded up onto the shore, scattering shale and sand and seaweed; I beached myself purposefully. The further Claire was from the water, the safer she would be. I pushed her out as far as my arms could reach, putting as much distance between her and the sea as possible. Now all I needed was for my scales to recede and I could run after her and get her safely-

-Something grabbed me; raking me back over the rocky shore and into the shallows.

Before me, Claire gaped and fell back onto the shale. Behind me was Mara, and there was murder in her eyes. My gaze darted back to Claire; who sat frozen in shock.

"_RUN!_" I screamed, an inarticulate wail ripping its way free of my throat.

To a human it was unintelligible but for Claire it was enough. Her feet unglued and she scrambled up, bolting for the trees, stumbling and tripping in her haste. No doubt there would be scraped palms but compared to what could have been it was inconsequential. She was sobbing hysterically by the time she reached the tree-line, and I couldn't have been happier.

I turned to see Mara staring after the child too; she looked almost desolate.

"She's out of your reach now," I said, and her black eyes snapped down, "there's no need to continue with this. She's gone."

Venom dripped from her sneer. "She may be gone but you and Riana are not. Do not think me a fool. I have seen into your minds. I see how loved you both our by your land-walkers. In fact, when you returned you gave me a better way to exact my revenge…" Leaning closer she hissed, "Your deaths will cause them more pain than little Claire's ever could."

There was no indecision in her pitiless eyes, they burned and chilled like ice, and in that moment I felt true terror. I had no doubt that she would follow through with her threat.

"BELLA!"

Up on shore there was the crunch of feet on pebbles. My heart twisted as my head snapped back. I knew that cry.

"Leah!"

She pumped her arms in an effort to pick up speed as she closed the distance. God, where was I? Washington for certain; close to La Push. _Riana and I had been so close_.

A sharp pinch reminded me of how far I still was. Nails tore the skin of my thigh and tail as they dug deep, yanking me back into the tide. Where was Riana now? That scream I had heard, was it hers? Now, as I cast out for her thoughts, there was nothing but blackness. A chill seeped into my chest and I fought harder, splashing, digging trenches of shale in an effort not to be pulled back further. It did little good. I was like a gazelle in a crocodile's grip.

Leah screamed, "Get away from her you hag!"

Just as she reached the tideline, Mara released me and reared up, pinning Leah with her black widow's gaze. I felt her power, it pulsed from her. The same way it had the first time I had seen her. Leah skidded to her knees, eyes locked, hands going limp, mesmerised.

"I sense a fracture in your heart, young one," Mara cooed, her voice both venom and honey. "A pain that runs deep… The one you love is always close… and yet so far… he loves another now… someone else close to you. Oh, the betrayal you felt. The agony you endure is a constant hindrance. But I can help you with that. I can take it all away…"

"Leah, no!" I screamed, trying to reach her, "Don't listen to her!"

Blood seeped freely from many gashes in my tail and every drag splintered with pain.

"She would make an excellent addition to our sistren," Mara commented idly. "Would you not like your friend to join the ranks? Would you not like for me to alleviate her pain?"

To Leah, she continued, "I feel it too, what you feel. No one should have to bare such a burden… none should feel such pain. Come with me, with us, and I can take it from you."

The power in her voice pulsed like a living beat, it thrummed and beckoned, and in response my own heart slowed. It may have not been aimed at me but it lulled me nonetheless. Tiredness weighed on me, my limbs were so heavy… my eyelids drooped…

It would be so easy to give in. The voice said we should…

In the distance I thought I heard a noise; the tramp of feet.

"Leah…" a faint voice called.

With Herculean effort I pried my eyes open. Sam was running, but he was so far away, a mile or more up the shoreline. Boys shifted into wolves at his side, running too.

"Leah, no!" he cried, sounding desperate. "Leah, please! Get up! Fight!"

I blinked, before me Mara was leaning over her, and Leah was limp, slowly leaning back, exposing her throat as her eyes drifted shut and the pulse thrummed and thrummed.

"Leave her alone," I murmured groggily, fighting the effects and shaking my head. The motion provided more clarity. Mara intended to rip out her throat. There was no feeling of compassion, no need to change or save the heartbroken girl. I may not have been able to read her mind but she was spewing out her emotions for the entire sea to feel. And I _felt_ that. "If you do," I continued, breathlessly, "if you let her go, I will come with you without a fight. They are close now, the wolves are gaining and they won't wait to listen to your reasons when they get here. They only know that your daughters attacked First Beach and that you stole one of their children. Let's go now," I finished as Mara turned, "leave her alive."

Leah collapsed, falling back onto the shale, breathing deeply and slowly as Mara's black eyes bored into mine. "Return with me, don't fight me, and I will."

"Okay."

It was quick and easy, we slunk back into the water without a sound. I doubted I could have fought her even if I had the strength. Her mind too strong, and while my thoughts were still my own my body was exhausted from hours upon hours of swimming with Claire. I felt sluggish, depleted. A part of me knew it was Mara's influence, but I couldn't fight it.

Wolves howled as we sank below the waves; high keening yowls that were dulled by the water as Mara passed me over to more caring hands to be carted back. Riana was there too, eyes closed, limp in the arms of others. Her lips were bloody…

I knew Mara would kill us now, her stance screamed murder. I shut away thoughts of Edward, and focussed only on the jubilance of our success. I would welcome death with open arms, embracing it as an old friend. Glad that I had had the chance to leave this world doing something good, so few did. At this point, Claire's safety meant everything. And Leah was saved too. Nothing else mattered. _Let her stake me now and be done with it_.

Mara must have caught track of my thoughts.

"No," she sneered, leaning down to snag the hair at the base of my neck and pull my head back with it. "Your death won't be that easy."

With a sharp wrench she released her grip and took off into the deep, leading the way.

…

**So, yeah… that happened. What will Edward and Jake do now? The Pack and the Cullens? Let me know your theories. ;)**

**A/N: The start of the year has been **_**hectic**_**. Some of you on FB saw that I made some short story sales, I also sold a fantasy/romance novella which is due out this summer in a 5-author book called Masked Hearts (cover looks so pretty!), and… my newest novel manuscript won first place in a comp! I really wasn't expecting it, and as a result the judging agent has requested the full. As it's my newest there are parts I need to work on and I've asked for time to do that – so that's what I'm frantically doing now, and why updating has taken so long. In the midst of all that wonderful news though, I lost a friend too, who had been battling cancer for a while. It was still a shock, even in the circumstances. So as you can tell it's been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. But I want to let you know that updates **_**are**_** going to continue, they're just going to take time while I work. I hope you guys understand. And thanks for the great reviews, they always make me smile – usually when I need it most. You guys are fantastic. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Nemma x **


	59. Chapter 59 - If All Fails the Sun Shines

***Peeks around corner* Hello, you still there? I'll just leave this update for you. *Slides chapter forward and scurries away* Happy reading! Nemma x **

**Mermaid names ahead, btw.**

**Recap: Claire was saved, Bella and Riana, however, not so much… **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

…

Chapter 59: When all fails, the sun still shines – BPOV

Mara did not make it easy, just as she'd promised. Not long after the Colony came into sight our entourage set off again in another direction, south and west, through slowly warming waters. _To the tropics_, the random thought sounded right. Any chance Edward and Jake had of following – and finding – us was rapidly diminishing by the second. I stayed quiet the entire way – partly because I felt so exhausted and bruised and in pain, and partly because of the smothering pressure of Mara's mind. It stopped me focussing, sapped any of the energy I managed to rally to fight. This close, with my arm in her bruising grip and her nails digging in, breaking skin, cutting off the circulation, it was hard not to succumb to her influence once again. _You're a coward, a disgrace, a traitor to your own kind. You deserve what's coming to you and you know it._ Somehow, this time, the shield around my mind stayed strong. I heard the thoughts she projected as plainly as if she'd spoken them out loud, but instead of landing and settling in my mind they seemed to deflect away, like hail on a window-screen. Perhaps because I knew every word was a lie. From the odd huff or growl she released I guessed that my lack of reaction irritated her greatly. She wanted me to believe it, she wanted me in pain.

Riana remained unconscious for most of our trek, which I think was for the best, and she only roused slightly when the pressure of the water around us eased and we rose back towards the surface. Seemed like we were nearing the end of our journey.

My heartbeat spiked, thrumming with dread, I could feel it fluttering in my chest like a caged bird desperate for release. The water above rippled and swayed. Closer… closer… we broke the surface, to a blast of hot midnight air. Definitely in the tropics.

Finding my balance in the sloshing waves I brushed damp locks aside to glance around. All lay in darkness but with my keen vision I could see enough. Ahead lay a small sandy island.

With barely a pause Mara started towards it, dragging me along. The others followed in her wake.

Riana woke long enough to see it, to see its tiny, yellow land-mass and three lone palm trees, to see its three erect half-submerged posts with dangling chains, and she remained awake long enough to feel the cold manacles of those posts being attached to our wrists.

"Whasss…. happnin…" she drawled, eyes drooping shut, limps flopping.

No one replied.

"Winch them up," Mara said, in an even voice. Remarkably, unnervingly, calm.

The other sisters heeded her orders in silence; both verbal and mental. Once those iron cuffs clicked home they levered our arms up until they stretched full-length and we were raised to hang, uncomfortably taut, half-in and half-out of the ocean.

The sockets of my arms burned but I bit down the pain, refusing to make a noise. I'd had worse and I refused to give her the satisfaction.

"This is punishment for your defiance," Mara told us as she watched from the lightly lapping shallows. "When the sun rises in a few hours you will feel its heat, you will feel its _burn_. The temperature soars in these parts during the day and our flesh is so fragile when it comes to the sun. It dries, it crisps, it shrinks and breaks and weeps. If you survive the day, then you have tomorrow to look forward to, and the next day, and the next…"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, striving not to groan.

Claire was gone. She was angry at the loss, I got that. And the pain she must feel over Lilith's death must be great indeed for someone who could not feel. But how did this help anything?

"That girl was to be our payment!" Mara snapped, bristling at her perceived slight. "The child's death would have settled the blood-debt they owed me and my kin."

No longer _our_ kin then, I noted. Had she already cast Riana and I out of her fold?

"An eye for an eye," she said.

As if it would be settled, just like that. The Quileutes would not have allowed Claire's death to go un-avenged. She was not only a child of the tribe but an imprint, there was simply no way. The situation would have escalated; more blood would have been spilt, on both sides. More pain, more death, more battles… where would it have ended?

An old phrase drifted across my mind in that moment, one reputedly voiced by Ghandi.

"An eye for an eye and the world is blind," I muttered, more to myself than anyone.

With a splash Mara propelled herself from the water using her powerful tail, and at the same instant a stinging smack met my cheek. It resounded across the rocks and whipped my head to the side. It took a moment to understand that she had just slapped me. Not a Philosopher then.

"Now _you two_ will be the eye," she hissed; fangs free and threatening. "If you care for the land-dweller's child so greatly, you can be the ones to pay the blood-debt in her place! They care for you too; they still consider you as their own. I can see that in both of your minds, so the effect will be the same as if Claire had remained. _They will feel my pain_."

They left us then. Mara ordered the sisters away. None looked at us as they turned and swam but I felt the reluctance in their thoughts, however much they tried to hide it. They didn't like this. They didn't like the idea of hanging their own sisters out in the sun to roast. It twisted their guts and burnt their gullets. Though none felt strongly enough to act against Mara's orders… They did _feel_ though.

"So," a gravelly voice croaked to me left, "What did I miss?"

"We're being executed," I clicked sullenly, swishing my tail in what little water covered it. _Just enough to stop the change_.

"Oh, wonderful," she clicked throatily, "wake me up when it's over."

She slipped back into unconsciousness then, leaving me alone with only the night and the sounds of the sea to keep me company. Water lapped languidly along the sand, a crab scuttled side-ways up the shore and into the trees. Their palm fronds swayed in the night breeze.

_Palm fronds_. We were definitely in the tropics. Edward would never think to look for us here, even if he constructed a search-grid using the maps I had drawn on to show Jasper the layout of our territory. This spot, wherever it was, was at the farthest edge of our Colony's realm. Why would he ever look here? And if he did it wouldn't be the first place he would go. It would take days, weeks, to find us. If then… My lips trembled, threating tears. I bit them.

The memory of his tortured eyes tormented me. "_I cannot bear to lose you again_."

He wouldn't. I would not die. I would _not_ do that to him. I was determined.

I'd made a promise to Edward to come back and I was damn well going to keep it. I had failed him too many times already in the past. I would not, could not, do it again. Jake too had found his imprint in Riana. If she was lost he would be destroyed. Their lives depended on ours. As inextricably linked as we both were, if we were to die, so would they.

That could never happen.

Self-preservation may never have been high on my list of priorities but Edward-preservation… now, that was a whole other thing. For him, I'd survive this.

Renewed determination coursed through my veins like adrenaline, filling me with a burst of energy. Now Mara was gone there was nothing to supress the fight in me. I writhed, twisting and spinning and squirming in the manacle's firm metallic grip. My tail flailed and flopped with my efforts, splashing up water as I spun in the dangling chains like a puppet on strings. That wasn't working, I was making it worse. I needed to try another approach. So instead I wound my hands about the chains above and _tugged _with all my might. Gritting my teeth, with arms shaking, I rose several inches, straining… straining… and dropped, panting. I hung limp as a boned fish. There was no give in the chains, not even in their wooden settings.

Well, crap.

But I had to keep trying, for all our sakes. How long had these post things been here? It must have been years. The saltwater had left traces of rust. Brine had weakened the iron.

It. Would. _Give_.

I yanked hard.

A cry broke through my lips as a sharp twist resulted in a deep cut. Blood wept beneath the cuff… adding lubrication. Hmm, maybe that was an advantage. However, the more I twisted the less grip I gained. The more slick the metal grew, the harder it was to hold. Gah!

_Save your strength_, I counselled myself, _spend time to think_.

I had the whole night to think after all, to ponder and plot and plan. So I did. The whole night was spent with my own roiling, repetitive thoughts. And I got nowhere.

No bright spark burst out, no bulb clicked on. I developed no marvellous escape plan.

When the sun eventually rose, so did Riana. The fluttering of her drowsy mind alerted me first. Then her eyes opened. She blinked, groggy, and glanced around until she found me.

"Oh," she said, "and I was so hoping that that was all a bad dream."

"Yeah, you and me both. Neither of us seems to be waking up though. So, is this normal?" I rattled the chains for emphasis. "Has this happened before?"

With grim compliance, she shared her knowledge with me.

It had happened several times before, far back in history. Once a mermaid named Lelianna had fallen in love with a human male and pledged her heart to him in marriage, when Mara found out she had been incensed, murderous at the love she bore for him; it was true and unwavering, no matter how much she tried to sway her. The girl had meant to run away with him, to leave her sisters and abandon her colony for her lover. Mara had flayed the scales from her skin claiming that if she wanted to be land-walker she would not have need of them.

Another time, a young mermaid named Phaedra had given the location of her Colony to an eager hunter in exchange for bags of shinny gold coins. Hundreds of her sisters had been slaughtered, the Colony decimated, but the informant had made it out and sort refuge in Maran waters. When her crimes had been made known, through her easily read mind, Mara had staked the girl to a post in the sun. _That_ punishment, many felt, had been deserved. Though the girl had pled ignorance of the hunter's true motives until the last…

At another time, a girl named Rivvah had fallen for a Hunter's son, one of Orion's line… As I listened it became clear that this had been recent. But before Mara could act the boy had been killed by his own father for having the audacity to love a 'sea-beast'. He had even thrown his corpse to her in the sea. When the girl returned home she was beyond agony; she begged for release, for death, and Mara had complied. It had been swift and painless.

"The agony she felt was even too great for Mara to suppress," Riana lamented.

"And yet she still preaches that mermaids cannot feel?" I wondered in disbelief.

Riana snorted. "Mermaid propaganda. Although it is true, in some ways. Like I told you, she can supress emotion in those she changes, but they can get it back, like you did… Like I did. And it is true that the sea-born do not feel – you met Lilith."

Yes, Lilith had been blood-thirsty and apathetic and cold, a creature without remorse.

"Many years had passed since Mara had killed slowly," Riana went on, her voice a grim croak, "so to kill that girl quickly was not just an act of mercy. It was normal."

"The boy from the last story was Balthazar's son," she added, "the mermaid hunter at First Beach. I brought it up with the Quileute council as one of his many crimes against us."

Riana said she had been present for that one. She had wondered then how a mermaid could feel so deeply, though she had been very new herself and unwilling to question Mara about it. Now, we were the next on the list of the Damned.

I had always known that Mara had a dark nature, but this was a side of her that I had not been exposed to before. If I had known, would I have acted differently? Maybe, but I would have still tried to save Claire, and Leah, because it was the right thing to do.

Overhead the fierce heat of the sun grew and grew. At first it was not so bad. It tingled along the skin, then it bristled, darkening the paleness to pink, then it became uncomfortable.

By midday, it had become _unbearable_. Fire scorched our skins, blistering flesh until I could feel it driving deep into muscle and sinew. It _burnt_, no matter what way we twisted.

Arms, stomach, face, nose, ears, eyes… everywhere!

"This won't go on for much longer," I grated. Because it couldn't! It must be nearing sunset.

Riana only groaned, dipping her head to allow her red tresses to flop forward in an attempt at shade, and flicking her tail – as we had been doing for hours – in an attempt to splash a spray of cool droplets onto her skin. I discovered early on that this was a nasty trick. It cooled, sure, for a bare fraction of a second, but the salt in it stung and sizzled, only adding to our pain.

"The wolves saw what happened," I continued, supressing a whine as my dry lips chapped and bled. "Claire and Leah will fill in the rest and they'll tell the Cullens. It won't have been long after that that they set out." I was confident. "They will find us, they will save us."

Squinting her eyes against the glare, Riana sighed and twisted to face me.

"In some ways," she croaked. "I hope they never do…" My questing thoughts made her add, "I don't want any of them getting within a mile of Mara."

It was evening before anything changed. The heat waned, though only a little, and on the far range of my senses I caught a trickle of thought. It was only vague, a feather brush against my mind. If I'd been distracted I would have missed it. Some of our sisters were returning, only a few, and the tenor of their thoughts was… wary? Was I reading that right? I focussed, honing in. They were disobeying, going against an explicit order…What could that mean?

"Riana," I clicked, nodding out to the waves.

She turned, sensing them too.

When the first head rose, we saw it bob up and down with the waves, far out. Two others joined her, and slowly, very slowly, they slunk their way to our little secluded bay.

All Riana and I could do was wait.

What did they want? Explanations? Apologies? To express regret? To exact their own revenge? I didn't dare hope that they were here to free us.

Their leader took up position at their front, and faced us.

It was Kiera, Mara's first in command.

She hovered uncertainly at the posts' bases, flanked by the other two. One was the Jamaican girl, Danica. The other was the one I had freed at First Beach. The scars marring her pale face stood out stark in the sunlight. She had tried so desperately to haul me back into the water that night, she had tried to get me to safety. I still hadn't had a chance to thank her for that. I wondered briefly what had happened to the girl to leave such wounds as those.

"Why are you here now?" Riana grated, her voice sounding like sandpaper.

None of them deigned to answer.

The other two remained where they were while Kiera shifted forward. Her movements displayed a grace and elegance I had never achieved, as a supernatural marine predator or otherwise. I could see why so many sailors had fallen for her charms, and Randall.

"You are burning," she said to me, with what I was astounded to realise was sympathy.

With tentative slowness, she reached up and placed a cool, dripping palm against my cheek. The relief was immediate; her ice-cold hand withdrew the heat, calming my scorching skin, and I couldn't help but let my eyes slip closed, savouring the drops of icy water as they trickled down my skin, gathering at the base of my chin. I could ignore the salty sting easily.

"I am sorry for what has happened to you." Her voice was astonishingly kind, kinder than any mermaid's I had encountered so far.

"We heard of what you two did," Danica said quietly at her back, as she moved to do the same for Riana. Her exotic accent had a smooth, lilting quality, "though Mara has blocked all thought about the outcome of your venture. Please, tell us, did you get the child to safety?"

"Yes," I croaked, my throat sounding like a Texan grit-rod at midday.

"We are glad," Kiera said. Slowly her hand retracted and I almost whimpered at the loss. Without it, the heat returned. "Mara's decision to take the child was… flawed," she continued. "We all saw that. The babe did not deserve to suffer the way our Queen intended."

"What do you mean?" I grated. "What did she plan to do with her?"

Kiera paused, scanning my eyes uncertainly. "If you did not know already then I think it is best that you do not know now. You do not need the burden of that knowledge too, considering what else you are dealing with."

"_What we are dealing with_," Riana grated, "you mean our deaths?" Her following hiss lacked her usual gusto. The arid sun was stealing even her sense of sarcasm.

"You won't die straight away," Kiera said blandly, "it will take many days. But your deaths will be quicker than a human's. Our kind does not last so long in the dry heat."

Riana snapped her teeth. "Is that supposed to comfort us?"

I think it was.

The girl projected a low sense of comfort and compassion, a desire to ease our passing. It was the best she could think to do for us.

"I wish that there was something I could do," Kiera said aloud, surprising me further – she had always been Mara's strongest supporter, never going against her on anything. Even as she said it though, I could see that her wish did not extend so far as to anything that could risk her own life – like freeing us.

I croaked, "You mean… do we have any final requests?"

Her head bobbed slowly, once. "Yes." Her voice was a breathy wisp, as insubstantial as she seemed to be in the wavering heat. Perhaps she was only a mirage…

"I've got one," Riana's voice sounded croaky but that did not detract from the sarcasm, "loosen the cuffs and let us go."

"I cannot do that," she frowned a little, "I think that Mara's judgement is flawed, but I am still loyal to her. She is our Queen after all… and you went against her will."

"Even if she's a tyrannical bitch?" Riana hissed, far beyond pleasantries.

"She is _our queen_," Kiera warned, in a way seniors tended to say 'respect your elders'.

The argument was going nowhere and Kiera was becoming increasingly angry. I didn't want to provoke her ire and lose this opportunity, so I mentally prodded Riana to silence.

"You do not agree with our punishment," I gently persisted, "do you?"

Wary now, she considered her answer carefully. Her words were slow and stunted.

"I abhor acts of cruelty against my own kind." _Sister _she added mentally and sighed. "The punishment of death is extreme, considering the crime."

_Death, for saving the life of a child… Yes, that is extreme. _

I abruptly recalled the last time she had spoken to me, we had been discussing the prospect of mermaid children and she had commented '_I did not know we could get pregnant_'. Her resemblance to Rosalie hit me anew. If she cared for no one else, I guessed she would care for a stranger's child.

"Kiera," I murmured. She turned to regard me slowly. I don't think I had ever called her by name before. "There is something you can do for us."

…

**Did you notice the names? As usual I picked them randomly from a hat, but if yours wasn't picked there's still a few spots in later chaps left, so they may still be used. Thanks for the mermaid name suggestions guys. :) **

**Yeah, so it's been a while. What can I say other than: lots of travelling, work and wedding prep. Lots and lots of wedding prep. It's my BFF's wedding! Eee! Got the rehearsal tomorrow too, so gotta go pack. **

**Anyway, hope you liked the update.**

**Nemma x **


	60. Chapter 60 - The Request

**This one is from a new POV – Kiera's (one of Mara's head-mermaids). It includes some historical facts too that I picked up while researching another story, so the history, as far as I know, is true. Minus the mermaid incursion, of course. Happy reading! Nemma x**

**Recap: Bella and Riana were taken prison and hauled up in the sun to die. But Bella has one last request… **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them. **

… 

Chapter 60: The Request – Kiera POV

Bella's last request was to have a message passed along to her waiting lover, Edward. The vampire. It was a very human thing to do, very unlike their kind. But she had asked if Bella had a final wish and that was it. It was a remarkably simple task to ask of her, so Kiera felt… beholden, she supposed, to follow through. However, she took Danica and Waverly with her. Safety in numbers was always best, especially when dealing with land-walkers.

As the three of them swam through the tides, jumping and diving like dolphins eastward towards the American coastline, Waverly reminisced about what had passed and Kiera caught her thought-stream – a soft and gentle caress, like the flow of the water around them.

Bella had not voiced her request, simply projected her want toward all three mentally. She didn't have enough strength to continue moving her lips.

_You wish us to locate your partner?_ Kiera thought the words, whispering to her mind.

"Yes," Bella had managed to click, in a gritty croak.

"Mine too," Riana had added, her voice just as dry.

Bella continued, "Please tell Edward… Tell him… I love him… and that I'm sorry… I did not keep my promise…"

The sun had taken its toll on her already. Blisters had formed on her papery lips, the pink-red skin had burnt so badly in places that it would soon flake.

Beside her, Riana forsook the fight against conscious agony and drifted off, her thoughts lapsing into a comforting blackness. But Bella had strength, always had, and she clung on much longer.

"He will be waiting on First Beach… at La Push," she breathed. "Will you do it?"

Her voice sounded so weak, already failing her.

"I will not betray our queen," Kiera reminded her. "If I do this, I will not tell him where you are." Through words or through thoughts. She knew enough to guard both.

"Not… asking you… to…"

Kiera felt an odd twinge as she nodded – something that might have been sympathy. "If that is what you wish… then alright," she said.

Bella sighed softly. "It is…"

Her little frame had slumped then, hanging limply from her chains. Both her lips and her mind had fallen silent.

Kiera had put no voice to her reservations then, had merely complied with Bella's wish, it was to be her last after all. But really, what could one mere land-walker do? Immortal or not. _Vampire_ or not. His kind were fast but not as fast as mermaids in the water. Kiera and her sisters could easily out-strip him if he were to try to catch and interrogate them. This little excursion she had sent Kiera on would only bring more heart-break to them both.

Foolhardy young girl.

_It would probably be best if he never learnt of his beloved's fate_, Kiera thought as she swan, _as is the case with so many we mermaids leave behind on land_.

_That may be so_, Danica said at her side, her dark hair flowing around her like silk, _but I remember a phrase from my human times. 'Love makes fools of us all.' I believe that applies even to us sea-dwellers_.

_Even to those that cannot _feel_ love_, Kiera reminded her. It was a well-known fact that Sea Singers lost their abilities to feel upon the change. Mara had always preached thus.

Danica said nothing and Waverly – silent as she always was – only projected an image of the couple, one that had doubtless been scooped from Bella's mind. They stood together in a floral sea of wild flowers, a meadow, filled with vibrant waves of emerald green grasses and lapis-blue flowers, arms wound about each other. The sensations that accompanied the image were startling, a push and tug of the heart, an accelerated beat, a moistening or eyes… Happiness… Joy, perhaps? Not that Kiera could be sure of that. The closest she ever came to feeling anything like that in centuries was around Randall, and as always that was muted.

It was a magical scene, almost fantastical… hardly real.

_From what I know of Bella_, Danica clicked, _she never did fit exactly into the mermaid mould. You know as well as I that some do not. Their links to the land are just too strong_.

It was a sad thing, but some could simply not forget their former lives. They clung on, becoming despondent, frail and useless. It was just too hard for them to accept the change.

Usually Mara dispatched those few, quickly and quietly. They just… disappeared.

_You must be able to relate_, Danica said, a little slyly, _Your Randall is a vampire too_.

_I do not love my Randall. No mermaid feels such a thing._

_Oh_, her thoughts were thick with derision. She had always been more sceptical over Mara's preachings but usually never voiced her thoughts, at least not in Mara's hearing.

_I am fond of him, _Kiera admitted,_ very much so…_ More than, admittedly, she should be. One day she did plan to walk the world with him. She craved that day, to explore the wonders of the Earth by his side, with the two legs his venom could give her. It had been so long since she had walked. Mara had informed her that it could be done this way if not any other. Why she had not told Bella this, when her lover was a vampire, Kiera was not sure, but she did not question her Queen. Bella was new and had to learn to acclimate and accept her new lot in life. Maybe she would have told her in time, once she was more settled. That day would never come now.

_You truly still plan to leave us, with him? _Danica suddenly questioned and Kiera was brought sharply from her reverie. She meant Randall.

_One day I would very much like to_. She smiled sadly. It would mean leaving her sisters.

_It will be permanent_, Danica reminded her, _once you take vampire venom the change cannot be reversed. You will permanently be a blood-drinking land-walker_.

_It is a steep price to pay_, Kiera sighed, _but I believe the gift will be worth it_.

With it she may get her emotions back, with it she may be able to love him as he loved her…

Both of her sisters fell quiet then, their minds growing despondent. They had been together for three centuries at Kiera's last count; three newborns turned only a few months apart. Considering that, it was unusual for all of them to have such different backgrounds.

Kiera was the eldest daughter of a tribal chief off the coast of Norway. She had been washing clothing in the shallows one day when a man – one whose marriage proposal she had refused – surprised her. Angry at her rejection, he had attempted to force his… affections… upon her. Mara had heard her screams a mile away as she'd fought.

She'd arrived in time to prevent any damage beyond a broken wrist and minor bruising, and tore out the man's throat while Kiera scuttled back. She cried into her shoulder afterward, without realising what she was. Fearing reprisals for the death of the man, Mara had taken her into the depths and made her her own; Kiera had never once regretted Mara's decision.

Danica, they had found off the coast of Costa Rica. After the death of a much loved brother during a plague, she had thrown herself from a cliff. They had found her struggling in the surf below, gasping for air. Once Mara had initiated the change, they had caught the thread of her thoughts: she had changed her mind, she did not want to die, and so readily accepted the change and her new family.

Waverly was another case entirely. Her transition was much more… dramatic, and brutal. They had been flitting around the West coast of Africa – Mara, Kiera and Danica – when they happened upon her ship. Curiosity had lured them in. They had encountered pirate vessels in the past and were eager at the prospect of seeing jewels and gold on deck.

That was before they had seen the ship's name: _Merry Christmas_.

Chuckling at the absurdity of the name, Kiera pointed it out to Mara and was stunned to see her abject fear. The woman feared _nothing_. Mara looked up to see the colours flying.

"That's Edward Low's ship. We have to get out of here. Now," she ordered.

"Wha-" Kiera started in confusion.

"That man is a monster. We're leaving." Mara sounded truly terrified then and that, more than anything, inspired Kiera to move.

"Did you hear that?" Danica said, before they could splash into the deep.

They paused, listening. And then Kiera heard it too, a girl's whimper.

As if in a trance all three weaved through the waves to the port-side, being as quiet as they could. No use alerting anyone to their presence. They peered through any gaps along the hull, until Kiera gasped. The others moved lithely to her side, silently following her gaze.

There she was – Waverley.

"Lord of the Ocean," Mara choked.

The girl was shackled with iron-manacles to a central wooden beam. Her legs were free but both her arms were pulled taught by the restraints. Her head hung down between her arms, lanky hair concealing her features. Her dress was torn and ragged. Little skin showed – just grime, blood, and bruises.

She whimpered again as a man strode away, cracking his knuckles. He laughed cruelly, before shutting the door as he left.

Kiera shook but Mara's fear had evaporated in the wake of her fury. She saw red.

And through her, so did she and Danica.

Later that night, they had returned with a hundred-fold of their kin, and ripped the decking from the vessel's hull to drag the pirates into the deep. Working systematically, they butchered all hands. Mara had taken Edward Low herself… Kiera never did find out what she did to him. She did not think she wanted to know. Danica had once plucked up the courage – or the lunacy – to ask. Mara's words had been cold: "The punishment matched his crimes."

Mara had retrieved Waverley herself, in the midst of battle, and begun her change. Once she was their sister she had not spoken again, however, she communicated sporadically using imagery projected straight into their minds. Eventually her silence broke and she told them, using telepathic words, how Edward Low had taken her father's fishing vessel and butchered all the men on broad: her father, uncles and brothers. He had kept her to entertain himself and the crew. She never went into more detail than that, but Kiera knew enough of Low's reputation by then to fill in the blanks. Waverly had never spoken aloud again.

Nearly three hundred years on, the experience still haunted her. Waverly tried hard to block the memories of her human life and as the years passed it seemed to get easier. But even with the healing effect of her transformation, she still retained the scars of her past; both physical and mental. Suffice to say that after her experience she was no lover of land-walkers. Men, in particular, she despised. She and Mara were kindred spirits in that regard.

That was before they had journeyed the Atlantic to Hawaii, to start their Colony. And before Danica had split off for a time to help establish the Chilean mermaids.

They, all three, were daughters of Mara, by venom if not by blood, and loyal to a fault.

Mara had transformed them in back in a time when she'd had greater care, when her actions were not subject to question but were respected. She acted only in their own interests, and did all that she could to protect her kindred. Back then she had been different.

Kiera tried to define the moment she had changed but was unable to. It had been so gradual; she was not sure when Mara had begun to lose her compassion. Perhaps that change was simply a product of too much time passing and too much hardship.

Mara said that mermaids lost emotion upon the change, it was her philosophy. But recently Kiera had begun to think differently. It dulled, yes. But she had seen it expressed often enough. Mara once said it was a weakness and that her daughters could not be weak. From then, Kiera had believed that it was more wishful thinking than actual fact. Some seemed to regain them, if not all. Many succumbed to the blood and abandoned emotion and feeling. Kiera had.

_I wonder if I am so different from her_, she thought suddenly. Kiera considered herself more… gentle, than Mara, for the most part. Her prey did not suffer no matter their crimes. But how many lives had she taken needlessly? She had never stopped to count. But then, she had to eat.

Randall was the same. The lives he had taken were countless. So perhaps they were well suited. He would not damn her actions, he would not judge. He would understand.

Suddenly she missed him…

_Was he not supposed to report back to you by now? _Danica quizzed. _I thought that you sent him to track down Bella and any other sisters the land-walkers may have taken_.

_I did_, she said, _but a vampire's concept of time is lax. It could be many moons before he returns. He also said that he needed to feed_.

Perhaps, though, he would be nearby even now. He had said he would visit the Cullens, and if he were to meet Bella's Edward… maybe… But she had other things to think of now. She shouldn't be thinking about seeing him, only the task ahead.

As the west coast emerged on the horizon, thick with green pines, Kiera paused and turned to her sisters.

"Take care to guard your thoughts," she instructed, "remember that he is a telepath."

The sand of First Beach was full of driftwood and stone. It harboured one lone figure, stood on the nearest rocky outcrop. Bronze hair, pale skin; he was unmistakable.

As they neared they slowed, keeping to the deeper parts of the bay but within easy hailing distance. Vampires may have exceptional hearing but above water the mermaids' was not so acute. Still it was better than a human's. They tread water one hundred feet away.

"Hail," Kiera clicked.

The boy's face was carefully blank. Not smiling like in Bella's memories.

"My name is Kiera," she continued carefully, wondering if he would understand. "May we speak with you?"

"You may," he said, in staccato clicks. "I am Edward."

Waverly – normally so stoic and unmovable – flinched. This Edward cringed too, his eyes darting to Waverly as a grimace crossed his face. Ah, her memories of the ancient pirate. Kiera helped Waverly to block out her more painful thoughts. This boy may bear the same name as her once-tormentor but he bore none of his physical attributes.

_He speaks our tongue, _Danica noted from Kiera's left.

"I was well taught and am fluent in your language," he clicked. "I had an excellent tutor."

Bella.

_I bet his tutor never mentioned how bad his pronunciation is_, Danica thought before she could stop herself. Kiera quickly diverted their talk; they were not here to make pleasantries.

"You are the mind-reader." Statement, not question.

A slow nod, "But you already know that, you have for a long time."

"You are Bella's mind-reader," Kiera persisted. Again, not a question. "She asked us to deliver a message for her."

His stance grew rigid. "Where is she? Do you know?! When Leah returned an told us wh-"

They didn't need to say anything. Thought flowed in easy explanation. Kiera knew it was not she who had slipped, she was too careful. But the memory of Bella, manacled, limp in the baking sun, darted out from somewhere-

"-Good God, NOOO!"

The boy collapsed to his knees, gripping tufts of his hair. The three bobbed, stunned.

"The wolves saw a struggle…" he gasped between breaths, "Leah was too stunned to make any sense… they saw her return to the sea… but we never thought… had no idea that would… that Mara would do _that_…"

_Such emotion_… Kiera thought. The strength of it astounded her.

"Our… our queen was very angry at their defiance," Kiera clicked quietly.

He held out a hand, beseeching. "Where is she? Please tell me. Let me go to her."

_You mean let you save her, _Kiera dropped her gaze. A shutter clamped down over all of their thoughts. That was beyond the question. Mara's command was law. They were not here to defy her ruling and organise a rescue mission. They were here to deliver a message.

Reminded of that, Kiera looked to Danica, who, after swallowing, spoke. "Bella wanted us to tell you that she loves you… and that she's sorry she did not keep her promise."

Edward's hands raked through his messy bronze hair, causing further chaos, and his head tilted to the side as slouched onto the sand. "I should never have let her go," he groaned.

That was when Kiera saw it – the silvery double crescent on his neck.

That was a mermaid bite.

"You bare her mark," Kiera gasped.

She was quietly astonished. None in living memory bore the mark of a Colony sister. It had been centuries since she had last seen a live man baring a mermaid's bite. The practise had long since fallen out of fashion, mainly due to Mara's reign. She did not hold to the old traditions, the natural ways, but others did and to them that scar alone held great significance.

Kiera allowed her thoughts to flow freely, for him to read at his will. That bite marked him as Bella's, as her chosen mate; it offered him a degree of protection and respect. No other mermaid could touch him, for harm to be brought to a marked, claimed mate, was, if nothing else, considered taboo in their culture. This was why Mara allowed none of the girls in the Colony to mate, and knowledge of what true mating entailed was prohibited, hidden.

Mates were not only partners; they supplied the blood that was so desperately needed. But they were drank from in moderation, usually only when the blood-craving hit. This was why younger ones acted out and attacked and killed undeserving humans so often. When they smelt blood they lost control and couldn't stop themselves. No one taught them differently, to drink in moderation and exercise control. They did not understand and that was the problem.

Bella had been different, she had exercised greater restraint than any other newborn Kiera had ever encountered and that aspect alone made her exceptional. She had not killed, and as it turned out, instinct had led her to find her necessary source in the most natural way.

Even though she was never told, never taught how…

Mermaids had once been a peaceful race; it was centuries of hardship at the hands of brutal and untrustworthy men that had led them to the extreme state in which they lived now. But seeing him now proved one thing – there were still some worthy men in the world.

That mark said it all.

"You are her mate." She finally spoke that simple truth aloud.

That bond was considered by their own kind to be stronger than any marriage vows given, mates were held in higher regard than husband and wife. With marriage the bond created could be severed, with mates it never could be. The tie was permanent, beyond sacred.

_This changes everything_…

"It does?" Edward's voice said. Compared to his previously distraught state he sounded remarkably calm.

As Kiera blinked, returning to the here and now, she found the boy no longer on his knees. He was stood, staring at her hard. Ah, he had heard it all. In his brilliant amber eyes there was a flicker that might have been hope. He straightened.

Resolution hardened into surety and spread between the three sisters.

"I will help you to get her back," Kiera clicked, before she could think better of it. "_We_ will help you to get her back."

… 

**Thanks again for all of the wonderful reviews! Sorry I haven't had time to answer them. Please be assured that I appreciate them all – it's always great to hear from new and old readers when you've enjoyed the story. :) **

**The wedding went really well – kind of shocked by how epic the bride made it. There was stuff going on **_**everywhere**_**. And… I may have raided the pick n' mix at the end of the night before scurrying away to my room. Bumped into a groom's relative on the way who had apparently raided the pudding cart. He said "I won't tell if you won't." Hehe… **

**Just a note – I know some of you are frustrated with the waits between updates but please, frantic guest reviews do not speed that up, a.) because I don't see them unless I log in and b.) because if you want an approximate date on a update I can't answer guest reviews. Don't get me wrong, I like the odd prompt and love the happy reviews, but please, curb the enthusiasm. ;) I have a lot going on in my personal life right now, not long ago I attended another funeral (third one this year) and I just got news that sadly there will be another one soon, so my time for ff is minimal. Please be assured that I will update when I can. **

**Next one is already in the works. Hope you guys liked the update.**

**Nemma x **


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